The iron from that meteorite and the iron from your blood have common origin in the core of a star.”

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Look out when science is sciencing.

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission returned to Earth less than two weeks ago. The mission crashed into an asteroid, collected a sample of asteroid dirt, and brought the stuff back to Earth.

NASA discovered a jackpot in its find.

Careful Analysis Yields Fantastic Results

NASA just didn’t crack the capsule open after OSIRIS-REx landed in Utah. They flooded its sample compartment with nitrogen to prevent any on Earth contaminants from infecting the sample. The OSIRIS team took the capsule and its cargo to Johnson Space Center for detailed analysis and study. Before testing any of the dirt, scientists brought OSIRIS-REx to a clean room to perform their analysis.

Boy, did we really nail it!”

Dante Lauretta

NASA thought 60 grams of material would be a success, but they brought 250 grams of asteroid dirt that will be catalogued and loaned out to scientists for further study.

Get To It Already

NASA scientists used advanced equipment and found organic compounds in the asteroid dirt. The actual quote was, “It’s loaded with organics. If we’re looking for biologically essential organic molecules, we picked the right asteroid, and we brought back the right sample. This is an astrobiologist’s dream,” said Daniel Glavin, one of the co-investigators.

Organic compounds form the building blocks of life. That combined with water can sustain and nurture life. The other molecules scanned in the dirt were in fact water.

For years, NASA scientists have launched probes to Mars, the Moon, and other heavenly bodies in a search to understand the origins of life and devise more concrete theories on how we got here. It took 7 years, but OSIRIS brought back one more clue to guide us in learning what we are.

This is exciting news, and couldn’t come at a better time. The world seems like a small and stifling place when news is filled with geopolitical conflicts and bad guys who want to start a new, Christian world order. It’s comforting know that there is a bigger galaxy out there and on the grand scheme of things, we have a short time to learn and explore everything life has to offer.

Don’t look to political leaders or desperate techbros hocking their dystopian virtual reality for inspiration. Turn your gaze to the heavens where God has created an expanse for us to be amazed by. Reality is messy and beautiful.

Let’s enjoy this latest discovery of the history of us.

-MJ