China’s Tianwen-2 asteroid sample return mission is set to launch this month, May 2025, en route to the asteroid Kamoʻoalewa (2016 HO3). The country could join the United States and Japan, whose space ...

When researchers finally cracked open the canisters from asteroid Bennu, they were not just sifting through dust. They were staring at a chemical time capsule packed with sugars, amino acids, salt ...

(CNN) — Tryptophan, the essential amino acid behind the Thanksgiving myth that eating turkey can make you sleepy, has been found to exist on Bennu, a small asteroid that swings by our planet about ...

TOKYO (AP) — Officials from Japan’s space agency said Tuesday they have found more than the anticipated amount of soil and gases inside a small capsule the country’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft brought back ...

On December 6, 2020, the Hayabusa2 spacecraft dropped off pristine samples from asteroid Ryugu in the Australian outback, becoming the world’s second asteroid sample return mission, after the first ...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Asteroid samples fetched by NASA hold not only the pristine building blocks for life but also the salty remains of an ancient water world, scientists reported Wednesday.