A 2024 meteorite that crashed through a New Jersey home holds geochemical evidence of ancient saltwater brines and amino acids — the building blocks of life.
🔍 Click on a blue hotspot to reveal the brine signature
🧂 Brine Evidence Revealed
Sodium packed into cracks in the rock’s mineral crystals points to salty fluids that once flowed through the asteroid — not contamination picked up on Earth. This is the first witnessed meteorite fall to show geochemical evidence of ancient saltwater brines inside its parent asteroid.
🧬 Amino Acid Evidence Revealed
The meteorite is rich in amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. These appear to have formed through water-driven chemistry inside the parent body — supporting the theory that asteroids delivered the seeds of life to early Earth.