Space harbors life’s ingredients: nucleobases and amino acids found, but DNA and RNA remain undetected

Space has yielded nucleobases—the building blocks of DNA and RNA—and amino acids on the asteroid samples Bennu and Ryugu, along with more than a dozen prebiotic molecules detected in molecular clouds; of about 350 detected space molecules, roughly 180 are complex organic molecules. DNA and RNA themselves have not been found in space, but detections of sugars like erythrulose and other organics suggest the basic ingredients of life can form in space, potentially even before stars and planets, with future missions aiming to uncover larger molecules like ribose or RNA.