The Origin of Life on Earth Is Not Found on Bennu

One of the great engineering accomplishments of NASA was the OsirisREx spacecraft landing on asteroid Bennu asteroid in October 2020. Not only did it land, but it also took surface samples of the asteroid and returned them samples to Earth. The samples arrived in September of 2023 and examinations of the asteroid material showed that 14 of the 20 known amino acids, the building blocks of life, were present in the asteroid material.  The media jumped on that fact and proclaimed that it was now certain that life originated in outer space. The tabloids proclaimed that aliens had clearly seeded space with life forms, explaining the origin of life on Earth.

It is true that we know amino acids are produced in astronomical processes. In fact, scientists have known that for a very long time. They have shown up in certain types of meteorites found on Earth. What the mainstream media has not reported is that amino acids have a shape orientation to them. The molecule arrangement in amino acids causes them to be either right-handed or left-handed. Life as we know it is made up of 100% left-handed amino acids. Science is still looking for the reason, but the amino acids on Bennu are 50% right-handed and 50% left-handed. In other words, They could not explain the origin of life on Earth.

Every discovery made by science raises more questions. An analogy that may be applied is what happens when you put an ordinary key into a lock. If you try to insert the key upside down, it will not work. The wisdom of having only left-handed amino acids doubles life’s food supply, and that may be the answer to why. But one thing is sure: there is a reason for what Bennu teaches us and for the design of life.

— John N, Clayton © 2025

Reference: apod.nasa.gov for February 12, 2025.