Scientists have discovered 14 amino acids on the asteroid Bennu, millions of miles from Earth, as part of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission.

The mission successfully collected asteroid samples and brought them back to Earth in 2023 for analysis.

While previous findings suggested Bennu contained water and carbon, the discovery of amino acids, ammonia, and nucleobases adds exciting new questions, Space.com has reported.

These findings suggest that the conditions necessary for life may have been widespread in the early solar system, increasing the likelihood that life could have formed on other planets.

Written by B.C. Begley