"Smithsonian Unveils OSIRIS-REx's Bennu Sample, Potentially Containing Life's Origins"
The Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. has unveiled the first display of a sample from the asteroid Bennu, brought back to Earth by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission. The small rock, presented in a stainless steel bottle, is surrounded by a pure-nitrogen environment to preserve its condition. The display also includes scale models of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft and the Atlas V 411 rocket that carried it. The sample, labeled OREX-800027-0, is made up of smaller rocks cemented together and heavily altered by water, containing minerals and carbon that could provide insights into the origins of the Solar System, Earth's oceans, and life itself.