Asteroid rocks start to disclose the origins of our photo voltaic system

Curtin College researchers are amongst a world crew of scientists discovering how our photo voltaic system got here to be, by uncovering secrets and techniques hidden inside a 4.5 billion-year-old asteroid.

In September final 12 months, after a seven-year journey, NASA’s $1 billion OSIRIS-REx mission efficiently returned samples from the asteroid Bennu, with samples despatched to analysis laboratories all over the world together with Curtin.

New examine published in Meteorites and Planetary Science The analysis reveals the preliminary outcomes of the samples – and there have been some surprises for the crew.

The samples consist principally of darkish particles starting from the dimensions of mud to about 3.5 cm lengthy, nonetheless, there are some lighter particles scattered all through, and a number of the stones additionally comprise a brighter materials that types veins and crusts.

OSIRIS-REx pattern evaluation crew member, Affiliate Professor Nick Timms from the Curtin College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, stated that not like meteorites which have fallen to Earth, the fabric collected from Bennu has been preserved in a pristine state and has not been contaminated by Earth’s environment or biosphere. . .

Affiliate Professor Tims stated: “Analyzes present that Bennu is among the many most primitive chemical substances identified, and is comparable in composition to the seen floor of the Solar.”

“This implies that Bennu underwent completely different processes than the planets, and that these processes modified the abundance of sure components relative to the Solar.”

Evaluation of the samples confirmed the presence of assorted elements beforehand considered current, comparable to hydrous silicates (a kind of mineral that types within the presence of water) and carbon-rich supplies.

“Which means that asteroids like these could have performed a key function in delivering water and the constructing blocks of life to Earth,” Professor Timms stated.

The samples additionally comprise a number of surprising elements.

Professor Timms stated: “We have been shocked to seek out magnesium and sodium phosphate, which additionally means that Bennu skilled chemical environments which will have contained water.”

“We additionally discovered different uncommon minerals, which offer clues about processes which have occurred on Bennu over billions of years, comparable to temperatures and stress situations.

“These uncommon minerals assist paint an image of Bennu’s evolution, and likewise present insights into the early photo voltaic system and the way the varied planetary our bodies within the photo voltaic system have been created.”

Professor Timms stated there might be extra discoveries from Bennu samples, which can have a variety of implications for understanding the early photo voltaic system.

Professor Timms stated: “The pattern incorporates pre-solar grains created earlier than our photo voltaic system existed, which might present an in depth biography of the lifetime of historic stars.”

“There are additionally very sensible implications for understanding the composition of asteroids, from figuring out potential mining alternatives to determining how greatest to guard ourselves within the occasion that an asteroid is on a collision course with Earth.”