NASA finally unveiled what it discovered in the small capsule carrying asteroid samples: evidence of the “building blocks of life on Earth,” the agency said in a press release. The findings signaled the conclusion of the 7-year OSIRIS-REx mission to recover material from the Bennu asteroid 3.86 billion miles away from our planet. In an announcement on Wednesday, NASA said the samples contained evidence of carbon and water—two important ingredients for life on Earth. “The OSIRIS-REx sample is the biggest carbon-rich asteroid sample ever delivered to Earth and will help scientists investigate the origins of life on our own planet for generations to come,” NASA chief Bill Nelson said in a statement. He added that the successful mission will likely produce data into how the solar system was formed, and even lay the groundwork for precautions to prevent apocalyptic asteroid collisions. The sample might even give additional credence to the theory that an asteroid seeded all life on Earth as we know it. “The sample has made it back to Earth, but there is still so much science to come,” Nelson said. “Science like we’ve never seen before.”
