A round trip
The NASA spacecraft collected its sample from Bennu’s surface on 20 October 2020. The capsule landed in Utah on 24 September 2023. NASA determined a total mass of 121.6 grams of rock and dust: the 250 grams mentioned in some early estimates were not the final result.
Why study the material in a laboratory?
The samples were handled using procedures designed to limit terrestrial contamination. Laboratories can use many different instruments and preserve some material for future study. Bennu is an asteroid: a sample collected in space should not be described as a naturally fallen meteorite.
Ingredients, not proof of life
Analyses found carbon, nitrogen and organic compounds; later studies identified molecules important for life on Earth. These findings help scientists investigate chemistry in the early Solar System, but do not prove that life existed on Bennu or that terrestrial life came from the asteroid.