The following passage is true.

On September 24th, 2023, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft returned to Earth with samples from the asteroid Bennu. The spacecraft was then transported to the Johnson Space Center (right here) in Houston, Texas on September 25th.

Scientists will now study the dust, chemicals, and minerals from the asteroid sample to gain new insight into how the solar system formed and learn more about the early building blocks of life which may have contributed to life on Earth.

The following passages are hypothetical (NOT true). As of September 28th, scientists have NOT actually found any organisms in the asteroid sample.

Scientists studying the samples from Bennu have identified an unknown organism living inside of the asteroid pieces. Under the microscope, the organism appears to have genetic material inside a nucleus.

They have decided to call this unknown organism "Astrum primus" because it is the first organism we have found in outer space.

The animation below shows what Astrum primus looks like under the microscope.

Scientists have noted a few other characteristics about A. primus:

-It has many small structures that hold food and water for it.

-The entire organism has a phospholipid bilayer around it, which it uses to transport molecules in and out.

-The organism can move around to eat food

-The organism is capable of synthesizing its own proteins.

-The organism appears to be able to make energy by breaking down other minerals.

The graphs below represent how much carbon dioxide (blue line) and oxygen (red line) were measured over 48 hours (two days). Scientists observed that after 3 days, Astrum primus was no longer alive.

Carbon Dioxide:

Oxygen:

The animation below shows what Astrum chlorophyta looks like under the microscope.

Scientists have noted a few other characteristics about A. chlorophyta:

-It has one large structure that holds water for it.

-The entire organism has a thick outer covering made of cellulose which provides support and protection.

-The organism is capable of absorbing light energy to make glucose.

-The organism is capable of synthesizing its own proteins.

-The organism has genetic material inside a nucleus.

The graphs below represent how much oxygen was measured over 48 hours (two days) in both a light environment and dark environment.

Light Environment:

Dark Environment:

Is something like this truly possible? Can two organisms survive that long on their own without any other outside help?

A man by the name of David Latimer has proven just that. In 1972, Latimer watered a plant inside a bottle for the last time, then sealed it shut for good. 51 years later, his plant is still alive and growing!

This sealed bottle is known as a terrarium, or a self-sustaining ecosystem. It does not require any extra oxygen, water, or nutrients because all of the materials are recycled inside the sealed bottle.

2 days after the scientists studied the asteroid sample, their skin started to take on a green tint. They also became developed a fever, a bad cough, and nausea/vomiting.

A medical doctor took some samples and decided to run a cell culture. The results are shown below.

She noticed that while the pathogen seemed to be replicating quickly in their bodies, nothing grew at all on the agar plate.

After some additional studies, the medical doctor realized that all of the scientists who got sick were the ones who came into direct contact with the asteroid sample.

However, anyone who did not touch the asteroid sample was completely healthy.

Curious to learn more about NASA's actual OSIRIS-REx mission? Click here to check it out on their website!

You can also see a sample from this asteroid on display right here at NASA's Space Center Houston!