NASA spacecraft collects dust older than the sun from an asteroid more than 200million miles away

Dust collected from an asteroid by a NASA spacecraft more than 200 million miles away from Earth contains material that is older than the sun. Scientists have analysed samples from the Bennu asteroid, which resembles the Death Star space station in the Star Wars films, and found it is'chemically primitive'. It contained'presolar grains' which are stardust that formed around dying stars billions of years ago. The samples provide a glimpse into the outer Solar System during the birth of the sun and are more pristine than any meteorite on Earth, according to a team of researchers. NASA spacecraft Osiris Rex briefly touched the surface of Bennu with a robotic arm and collected 120g of material which was put into a capsule before it returned to earth in 2023.