Goddard Astrobiology Analytical Laboratory (Footage)

NASA scientist Heather Graham receives a shipment of asteroid Ryugu samples from her colleagues at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Transcript available.Universal Production Music: “The Ocean and the Moon” & “On Your Game” by Andy Blythe and Marten JoustraWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel. This conceptual image illustrates the types of organic molecules found in the sample of asteroid Ryugu collected by Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft. Organics are the building blocks of all known forms of terrestrial life and consist of a wide variety of compounds made of carbon combined with hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and other atoms. However, organic molecules can also be created by non-living processes, such as chemical reactions in asteroids.Credit: NASA/JAXA/Dan Gallagher Researchers have analyzed samples of asteroid Ryugu and discovered uracil, one of the informational units of RNA, and niacin, a form of vitamin B3 that is critical to metabolism. The discovery by an international team adds to the evidence that important building blocks of life are created in space and could have been delivered to Earth by meteorites.Credit: JAXA/NASA/Dan Gallagher Asteroid 162173 Ryugu is a carbon-rich pile of rubble, with an orbit that passes between Earth and Mars and a shape that resembles a kilometer-wide spinning top. Scientists think that Ryugu contains pristine organic material from the dawn of the solar system – and that it could hold clues to the formation and evolution of life. That’s why the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) sent the Hayabusa2 spacecraft to study Ryugu and collect a sample, which it delivered to the Australian Outback in December 2020. Now, NASA scientist Heather Graham has received a box of Ryugu’s treasures from her JAXA colleagues, bringing a relic of the early solar system to a lab on Earth.More from NASA: First look at Ryugu asteroid sample reveals it is organic-rich. For More InformationSee [JAXA's Hayabusa2 Project](https://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/en/) Related pages

Project Scientist Jason Dworkin discusses the OSIRIS-REx mission to explore asteroid Bennu and return a sample to Earth.View transcript.Watch this video on the NASAexplorer YouTube channel. Astrobiologists like Jason Dworkin are keenly interested in the origins of life on Earth, but the evidence that they seek was erased long ago by Earth’s geology and chemistry. Fortunately, asteroids like Bennu preserve the solar system’s earliest ingredients - including the carbon-based building blocks of life - which can be retrieved and studied by scientists in a lab on Earth. That’s why NASA is sending a spacecraft called OSIRIS-REx to explore asteroid Bennu and bring back a sample. The material collected by OSIRIS-REx will provide a wealth of data for future generations of scientists, shedding light on one of the solar system's biggest mysteries.Learn more about the OSIRIS-REx mission to asteroid Bennu.Learn more about the Astrobiology Analytical Laboratory at NASA Goddard. For More InformationSee [http://www.asteroidmission.org/](http://www.asteroidmission.org/) Related pages

Meet Dr. Michael Mumma, Director of the Goddard Center for Astrobiology, and learn about his role in the laboratory. For complete transcript, click here. Jamie Cook, an astrobiologist at the Goddard Space Flight Center, talks about her work in the lab and some of her most exciting discoveries.For complete transcript, click here. Joe Nuth, Senior Scientist for Primitive Bodies, talks about his job, his research, and how scientists are just like everyone else, but a little nerdier.For complete transcript, click here. Jason Dworkin, Chief of the Astrochemistry Laboratory, talks about solving problems, analyzing comets, and the great team of people working to answer science's biggest questions.For complete transcript, click here. Geronimo Villanueva talks about the possibility of life on Mars, trips to remote telescopes, and the research opportunities at NASA. In Spanish.For an English transcription, click here. Danny Glavin talks about crushing meteorite samples, funding, and how having the right chemistry (no pun intended) is important in an astrobiology lab.For complete transcript, click here. Inge ten Kate talks about the origin of life, the VAPOR instrument, and the unique opportunity to be both a scientist AND an engineer.For complete transcript, click here. Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. The NASA Goddard Center for Astrobiology and the NASA Astrobiology Institute focus on this amazing field through research, experimentation, and work with scientists from all over the world. Learn more about some of the people at the Goddard Center for Astrobiology below! Related pages