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Oct 23, 2026 18 min

Why NASA Rammed an Asteroid

from Be Smart. Hosted by Joe Hanson

↓↓↓ More info and sources below ↓↓↓ Where did life come from? It’s one of the biggest questions humans have ever asked — and the answer might be locked in ancient space rocks that were around before life began. To find out, NASA pulled off one of its most ambitious missions ever, landing on an asteroid and sending a rock sample back to Earth. Today, we’re going to take a look at what it brought back. Join our Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart References: https://www.asminternational.org/early-analysis-of-nasas-first-asteroid-return-sample/ https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.11794 https://www.lpl.arizona.edu/news/spotlight/first-look-bennu-sample-reveals-carbon-and-water https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03178-0 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03978-4 https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/osirisrexpresskit-2023.pdf ----------- High fives to all our Brain Trust Patrons: Ed Eyden Jennifer Burton Charles Horton, Jr Holly, Brett, and Ashe Bullion Jaap Westera Mehdi Damou Barbora Bei Burt Humburg dani bowman David Johnston Baerbel Winkler Eric Meer Karen Haskell Join us on Patreon! https://patreon.com/itsokaytobesmart Instagram http://www.instagram.com/DrJoeHanson http://www.instagram.com/okaytobesmart Facebook https://www.facebook.com/itsokaytobesmartpbs/ Merch https://store.dftba.com/collections/its-okay-to-be-smart​

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Why NASA Rammed an Asteroid

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