NASA has officially returned a sample of the asteroid Bennu to Earth. Carried in a capsule that landed in the Utah desert over the weekend, the sample is said to consist of about 250 grams of rock and dust, and while that may sound like a very small amount of nothing, NASA believes the sample could serve as a way to look at the earliest history of the solar system.
NASA is currently processing the sample in a secure facility, but the hope is that the sample could provide clues about the origin of organic life and water on Earth, and because the sample comes from an asteroid, it is argued that it should be free of almost any contamination.
As for why Bennu was selected as the asteroid of choice for this mission, the rock mass is an earth-shattering object that passes the planet once every six years and is also considered a remnant of the early solar system, as it is said to be 4.5 billion years old.
Thanks, Sky News.