CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -Astronomers have discovered evidence of abundant water-bearing minerals on the surface of the near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu .

Detailed explanation-2: -Data from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft that is currently orbiting the asteroid confirm the presence of aqueously altered, hydrated minerals on its surface.

Detailed explanation-3: -Minerals that can be found in asteroids are: iron, nickel, iridium, palladium, platinum, gold, and magnesium to name a few. Metal, however, is not the only thing that would be mined from asteroids. There is a certain interest in the mining of water.

Detailed explanation-4: -"Volatile and organic-rich C-type asteroids may have been one of the main sources of Earth’s water,” said the study by scientists from Japan and other countries, published Monday. “The delivery of volatiles (that is, organics and water) to the Earth is still a subject of notable debate,” it said.

Detailed explanation-5: -Liquid water, once thought unique to Earth, may be common on icy worlds throughout the solar system. NASA scientists say that Ceres, a dwarf planet in the Asteroid Belt, is still holding onto pockets of a subsurface, liquid water ocean.