Did Life Come From An Asteroid? With Harold Connolly Jr.

T-Mobile 5G Home Internet. https://T-Mobile.com/HomeInternet Could the ingredients for life have arrived on asteroids? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice unpack what the sample collected from asteroid Bennu is teaching us about the origins of life itself with Harold Connolly, geologist and mission scientist for OSIRIS-REx. How do you pick which asteroid to collect samples from? We discuss the selection of Bennu and how the context of the rock is important, not just the chemical makeup. What's the difference between a metallic asteroid and a carbonaceous one? Why is Bennu a rubble pile, and why did that make the mission so unpredictable? They break down the touch-and-go mechanics of the sample return, including the moment the spacecraft sank 48 centimeters into Bennu's shockingly soft surface and the scramble to stow the sample before stones caught in the valve cost them everything. Harold walks through the identification of evaporite minerals and the detection of all 15 amino acids and what they mean. How does Japan's Hayabusa2 sample from asteroid Ryugu compare? What can dust that predates our own solar system tell us about where we came from? And what is the role of phosphorus in assembling the prebiotic compounds that bridge the gap between chemistry and life? The conversation expands outward to Mars, where minerals like gypsum and vivianite hint at ancient flowing water, and inclusions that some scientists argue point to microbial life. Are those claims convincing? Could lithopanspermia actually work? If the same amino acid ingredients exist in space and on Earth, why invoke panspermia at all? Learn about Earth’s molten past and how the ingredients for life got here. We discuss what it takes to get from prebiotic compounds to actual life, why the universe doesn't care how we've divided our sciences, and why geologists, astronomers, and biologists are going to have to keep holding hands to find the answer. Oh, and Bennu has a small but real chance of hitting Earth in 2182. Plenty of time to prepare. Keep Looking Up! Thanks to our Patrons Kevin Widener, WilfriedLepuschitz, Rodney Juste, Aladin Mihai, Marc Washington, david smith, Gary Flenthrope, Christian Becker, EricRobert, Sonya a, Steve Jones, leeinalaska, Sewit Haile, Edward Janezich, Miguel Rodriguez, Shea M, Mister E, G.Montagnard, Vincent Jenkins, Ryan B, Brandon Kavulla, Owoskeun Cinder, LehensGivris, Marc, Debbie Evercloud, Fakhreddine Madi, Logan Koehler, Cem Oğuz, Aaron Greeley, Ohad Meir, Paul Osborne, Bodnár Márton János, STRS, Lawrence, THEO NNEBE, Richard Mosby, Kenneth Hawley, Robert Wilson, Amelia Cooper, mabus98, Mandana Rad, Lucas Kiil, Channing Hodges, Elizabeth Newton, Sebastián Egaña, Eric Hall, Sondre Rypdal, Anne Shirley, Andrew Rosenfeld, Michael Owen, T Playle, Kevin Selman, david Aldridge, Raymond Wright, Biotoxin, Brittany, Wraptile, Frances Cooley, Rodney Bell, Hesam Eskandari, Patrick Dietz, Alexandre Malouin, Diana Smith, Jesse Hoffman, Ian Peterson, WickedProf, Jonathan, SUSAN Moore, Tom DeGerlia, Jessica Holden, Simeon Ivaylov Petrov, Dario Kubler, Robert Passeri, Jr., Fred Miller, Jason Delancey, Rory L, Alice Kelaine Harline Davis, Loonertick, Rich, Jason Rich, jon meier, Susan, Robert Christine, Simon, Lauren Zajac, Brandon Abramovitz, J Sauce, Christopher Smith, Suzan Stocker, Roch Dylla, Treven Price, Zippo, Preet Sandhawalia, Chris McAfee, Hoth, Cody Mecham, Lewis, Casey Hampton, Jason Beezley, and Anthony Gliganic for supporting us this week. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction: Harold Connolly Jr. 03:56 - Why Go to an Asteroid? 11:00 - Why Bennu? 21:47 - Looking at the Sample in the Lab 27:00 - Amino Acids on Asteroids 31:20 - Mars Rocks & Rugu Sample 37:40 - What Made the Asteroids? 41:49 - Phosphorus & Presolar Grains 47:45 - Signs of Life on Mars 54:18 - Lithopanspermia: Are Meteors Seeding Life? 1:03:44 - Is Bennu Going to Hit Us in 2182? 1:06:33 - Reflections on Geology & Astrophysics 1:11:00 - Closing Check out our second channel, @StarTalkPlus Get the NEW StarTalk book, 'To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery' on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PL0NFn Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/startalkradio FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to StarTalk: Twitter: http://twitter.com/startalkradio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarTalk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startalk About StarTalk: Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up! #StarTalk #NeildeGrasseTyson