"NASA Unveils Potentially Life-Bearing Sample from Asteroid Bennu"
The Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History has unveiled the first public display of a sample collected from the potentially hazardous asteroid Bennu by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. The sample, weighing between 3.5 to 8.8 ounces (100 to 250 grams), is believed to contain some of the earliest precursors to life and is the first chunk of a space rock ever grabbed by a NASA mission. Bennu is considered a potentially dangerous object with a 1-in-2,700 chance of striking Earth in 2182. The sample will be analyzed for signs of extraterrestrial life's precursors.