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Potential metabolic viability on asteroid chemistry.

Theresa Fisher^1,2, Regis Ferriere^3,4,5

¹Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA. tfisher4@asu.edu.

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|January 22, 2026

Summary

Asteroids may have delivered essential prebiotic compounds to early Earth. Pristine asteroid samples show Murchison and Bennu could support primitive metabolisms, unlike others lacking key molecules for life.

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Area of Science:

Astrobiology
Geochemistry
Origin of Life studies

Background:

Asteroids are hypothesized to have delivered prebiotic compounds crucial for life's origin on early Earth.
Pristine asteroid samples offer a unique opportunity to assess their chemical potential for supporting life.
The interaction between asteroidal chemistry and early metabolic pathways remains largely unquantified.

Purpose of the Study:

To computationally evaluate the metabolic viability of primitive life forms on asteroid material.
To determine the capacity of different asteroid compositions to support early Earth metabolisms.
To identify critical substrates required for life within asteroidal samples.

Main Methods:

Metabolic network expansion was used to test biochemical network viability.
Computational analysis was performed on the known chemistry of asteroids (Itokawa, Ryugu, Bennu) and meteorites (Murchison, Murray).
Focus was placed on acetogenic and methanogenic metabolisms, representing primitive life.

Main Results:

The chemistry of Murchison and Bennu samples appears to support acetogenic and methanogenic metabolisms.
Murray, Ryugu, and Itokawa samples lack essential substrates like adenine and D-ribose, vital for ATP production.
Significant compositional variation exists among carbonaceous bodies regarding their capacity to support primitive metabolisms.

Conclusions:

Asteroidal composition significantly influences their potential to support early life.
Asteroids rich in carbon, nitrogen, and phosphate, like Bennu, hold astrobiological relevance.
The findings suggest potential past or present habitability on some parent asteroid bodies.