Spacedust from asteroid Bennu provides glimpse into celestial past

New Research on Asteroid Bennu Offers Insight into Solar System Formation

MONTREAL — Recent studies on a sample collected from the asteroid Bennu are shedding light on its origins, with a portion of the sample set to arrive in Canada soon.

Published in Nature Astronomy and Nature Geoscience, the research reveals that Bennu is a near-Earth asteroid with a composition that suggests it originated from a parent asteroid containing materials from various parts of the solar system.

Dr. Patrick Hill, program scientist at the Canadian Space Agency, noted that the studies focus on understanding the history of the Bennu sample, providing valuable insights into its formation and evolution.

Canada’s involvement in the NASA-led OSIRIS-REx mission will soon result in the country receiving a share of the asteroid sample. Construction of a clean room in Montreal began in 2025 to prepare for the sample’s arrival, making Canada the fifth country in the world to curate samples collected in space.

Canada’s portion of the Bennu sample will consist of about four percent of the total 122 grams, equating to just under five grams. Special precautions are being taken to ensure the sample remains uncontaminated, safeguarding it from water, organic molecules, and plastics.

The OSIRIS-REx mission, launched in 2016, aimed to collect material from the surface of Bennu to provide insights into the solar system’s formation. The spacecraft successfully retrieved a sample in 2020 and returned to Earth in 2023, with Canada’s contribution being the OLA laser altimeter tool, which helped identify the best location for sample collection.

Analysis of the Bennu sample has revealed stardust grains with compositions predating the solar system, providing unique insights into the asteroid’s formation and evolution. Additionally, studies have shown that Bennu underwent significant transformations over time due to interactions with water and exposure to space conditions.

These missions offer a rare opportunity to study pristine materials from space without the alterations caused by Earth’s atmosphere and surface, allowing for detailed analysis of the asteroid’s composition and history.

As Canada prepares to receive its share of the Bennu sample, the scientific community eagerly anticipates the wealth of knowledge that will be gained from studying these extraterrestrial materials.

This article was originally published on Aug. 31, 2025, by Sidhartha Banerjee of The Canadian Press.