WATER found on Bennu asteroid: NASA in incredible discovery on asteroid by OSIRIS-REx

NASA has explained these hydroxyl groups “exist globally across the asteroid in water-bearing clay minerals”, meaning that at some point, Bennu’s rocky material “interacted with water.”

However, the space program makes it clear Bennu itself is too small to have ever hosted liquid water but indicates it has been present on Bennu’s “parent body”, which is a much larger asteroid.

Amy Simon, OVIRS deputy instrument scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland said: “The presence of hydrated minerals across the asteroid confirms that Bennu, a remnant from early in the formation of the solar system, is an excellent specimen for the OSIRIS-REx mission to study the composition of primitive volatiles and organics.

“When samples of this material are returned by the mission to Earth in 2023, scientists will receive a treasure trove of new information about the history and evolution of our solar system.”