NASA is tracking a truck-sized asteroid which is set to hurtle by Earth today at many times the velocity of a speeding bullet. The space rock—dubbed "2025 BV5"—is estimated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to be some 26 feet across.
First spotted last month by a telescope in Chile, the near-Earth asteroid — designated 2024 YR4 — is estimated to be 130 to 330 feet (40 to 100 meters) across.
A capsule carrying about a half cup of dust and rocks from an ancient asteroid named Bennu landed in the Utah desert in 2023. The samples were collected by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, which sent a probe to rendezvous with Bennu in outer space.
The asteroid, designated 2024 YR4, jumped to the top of NASA's risk chart, with a slim but measurable chance of striking Earth in just seven years.
The sample analysis detected 14 out of the 20 amino acids used by life on Earth to create proteins, as well as all five nucleobases essential
All forms of Earth life have specific chemicals in their makeup, such as amino acids and sugars. Scientists have known that asteroids hold molecules believed to be the precursors to these chemicals. By studying the Bennu samples, they hope to gain more insight into how these ingredients could have evolved.
Two new papers describe hints to a brine-filled environment on the 4.5-billion-year-old space rock and the presence of amino acids, offering clues to how early Earth got its ingredients for life
Asteroid samples fetched by NASA hold not only the pristine building blocks for life but also the salty remains of an ancient water world, scientists reported Wednesday.
Rock and dust samples from the Bennu asteroid contain molecules that are the "key to life" on Earth, NASA officials announced on Wednesday.
The asteroid, dubbed 2024 YR4, was detected by NASA's Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System on Dec. 27, 2024. According to researchers, it has about a 1-in-83 chance of im
NASA scientists found amino acids, key minerals, and nucleobases for DNA in samples from the OSIRIS-REx asteroid mission. It's a win for alien life.