Analysis of asteroid Bennu samples from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission reveals the presence of magnesium-sodium phosphate, a compound suggesting the asteroid may have originated from a primitive ocean world.As it flew near our planet, it dropped off a capsule containing rock samples collected from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu. OSIRIS-REx took seven years to reach the asteroid and bring the sample back to Earth. Now, it is headed for a rendezvous with asteroid Apophis.
However, the most recent tests revealed the samples also contain magnesium-sodium phosphate. This is an ionic compound composed of the magnesium cation and phosphate anion.’s remote sensors. It also hints that “the asteroid could have splintered off from a long-gone, tiny, primitive ocean world.