NASA Discovers Tryptophan on Asteroid Bennu: Crucial Clues to the Origins of Life in Our Solar System

Nov 28, 2025 05:53 pm CST

NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission has discovered tryptophan, a complex amino acid essential for life, on Asteroid Bennu. This 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid contains 14 of 20 amino acids used by Earth life, suggesting asteroids may have delivered key ingredients for life to early Earth. The findings provide unprecedented insights into the chemistry of the early solar system and potential origins of life.