Asteroid Bennu samples are now on Earth and they are all set to set to reveal many secrets of the Universe. These can then be used by mankind to find answers to so many questions that have remained unanswered for so long. Professor Michelle Thompson, hailing from Purdue University in Indiana, has accomplished a remarkable feat by leading a team that collected samples from the Asteroid Bennu. These samples are nothing short of time capsules, offering insights into the formation of our solar system over four and a half billion years ago.
In an interview with CBC News: The National, Professor Thompson described the surreal experience of holding fragments from Asteroid Bennu in her gloved hands. She likened it to walking through Roman ruins in Europe, feeling the weight of history, and connecting with the ancient past. These asteroid fragments, carbon-rich and pristine, contain the building blocks of life, untouched by Earth’s atmosphere, making them invaluable for understanding the origins of life on our planet, she said.
The headline-grabbing claim that these asteroid samples might unlock the mysteries of life’s beginnings on Earth isn’t mere hype. Professor Thompson explained that the carbon molecules in these samples are fundamental to the evolution of life, and studying them can reveal how life could have emerged on Earth. The significance of this endeavor lies in the unadulterated nature of these materials, free from terrestrial contamination.
As for whether this will merely confirm existing theories or offer new revelations, Professor Thompson expressed her excitement for the future. The limited material collected from Bennu opens a window to many opportunities. This mission is set to provide unprecedented insights into the questions surrounding the origins of life on Earth.
The CBC News interview also touched upon Professor Thompson’s inspiring journey from a small town in southern Ontario to her current role in planetary science. She credited her success to the support of mentors and the tight-knit planetary science community in Canada. She encouraged aspiring scientists not to hesitate in seeking guidance and mentorship to pave their own paths to fulfilling their dreams.
With her enthusiasm and passion for exploration, Professor Thompson aspires to embark on more adventures, continuing to push the boundaries of our understanding of the cosmos.
NASA asteroid sample contains life-critical water and carbon
(AFP Science And Technology) A sample collected from the 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid Bennu contains abundant water and carbon, NASA revealed on Wednesday, offering more evidence for the theory that life on Earth was seeded from outer space.
The discovery follows a seven-year-round-trip to the distant rock as part of the OSIRIS-REx mission, which dropped off its precious payload in the Utah desert last month for painstaking scientific analysis.
“This is the biggest carbon-rich asteroid sample ever returned to Earth,” NASA administrator Bill Nelson said at a press event at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where the first images of black dust and pebbles were revealed.
Carbon accounted for almost five percent of the sample’s total weight, and was present in both organic and mineral form, while the water was locked inside the crystal structure of clay minerals, he said.
Scientists believe the reason Earth has oceans, lakes and rivers is because it was hit with water-carrying asteroids 4 to 4.5 billion years ago, making it a habitable planet.
All life on Earth meanwhile is based on carbon, which forms bonds with other elements to produce proteins and enzymes as well as the building blocks of genetic code, DNA and RNA.
The findings were made through a preliminary analysis involving scanning electron microscopy, X-ray computed tomography and more.
“This stuff is an astrobiologist’s dream,” said scientist Daniel Glavin, adding there was much more work to be done and the sample would be shared with labs around the world for further study.
– Biggest asteroid sample –
OSIRIS-REx wasn’t the first probe to rendezvous with an asteroid and bring back samples for study — Japan succeeded in the feat twice, returning celestial dust in 2010 and 2020.
But the amount collected — an estimated 250 grams (half a pound) — dwarfs that returned by the Japanese missions, with Hayabusa2 managing only 5.4 grams.
Named after an ancient Egyptian deity, Bennu is a “primordial artifact preserved in the vacuum of space,” according to NASA, making it an attractive target for study.
Its orbit, which intersects that of our planet, also made the journey easier than going to the Asteroid Belt, which lies between Mars and Jupiter.
In addition to scientific insights, better understanding of Bennu’s composition could prove useful if humanity ever needs to steer it away.
While there is no risk of it hitting Earth through the mid 2100s, the chances rise to around 1 in 1,750 between then and the year 2300, NASA says.
Data gathered by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft revealed the particles making up Bennu’s exterior were so loosely packed that if a person were to step onto the surface, they might sink in, much like a pit of plastic balls in children’s play areas.
– Future study –
Researchers have so far focused their efforts not on the main sample itself but on “bonus particles,” that lay on top of the sample collecting mechanism.
An inspection of the remainder of the sample will follow later.
Back in October 2020, when the OSIRIS-REx probe shot nitrogen gas at Bennu to collect material, a flap meant to seal the sample got wedged open, allowing some of the material to flow out into another compartment.
“The very best ‘problem’ to have is that there is so much material, it’s taking longer than we expected to collect it,” said deputy OSIRIS-REx curation lead Christopher Snead, in a statement.
NASA says it will preserve at least 70 percent of the sample at Houston for future study — a practice first started in the Apollo era with Moon rocks.
“The samples are then available for new questions, new techniques, new instrumentation far into the future,” said Eileen Stansbery, division chief of astromaterials research at the Johnson Space Center.
Additional pieces will be sent for public display at the Smithsonian Institution, Space Center Houston, and the University of Arizona.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
