Asteroid 'time capsules' may help explain how life started on Earth

Asteroid 'time capsules' may help explain how life started on Earth 02/21/2018 02:19 PM EST In popular culture, asteroids play the role of apocalyptic threat, get blamed for wiping out the dinosaurs -- and offer an extraterrestrial source for mineral mining. But for Georgia Tech researcher Nicholas Hud, asteroids play an entirely different role: that of time capsules showing what molecules originally existed in our solar system. Having that information gives scientists the starting point they need to reconstruct the complex pathway that got life started on Earth. Full story at http://www.news.gatech.edu/2018/02/17/asteroid-time-capsules-may-help-explain-how-life-started-earth Source Georgia Institute of Technology This is an NSF News From the Field item. Follow NSF:  This email was sent using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: National Science Foundation Update · 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22314 · 703-292-5111