τ-Life Precursors in Bennu & Beyond

Abstract

NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission returned samples from asteroid Bennu containing ribose, glucose, nitrogen-oxygen rich polymers ("space gum"), and 6× the supernova dust of any known astromaterial. These findings reveal that τ-life precursors—molecules capable of storing and cycling temporal charge—were widespread in the early solar system and delivered to Earth by asteroids. We propose that life, defined as sustained ordered τ-flux, could emerge wherever matter transformations support replication, metabolism, and evolution. Part 1 analyzes Bennu's samples through the τ framework. Part 2 explores where else τ-life might exist: silicon deserts, sulfur seas, plasma vortices, and exotic condensed-matter states.

Part 1: Bennu Samples & τ-Life Precursors

1.1 What Did Bennu Deliver?

On December 2, 2025, NASA announced findings from asteroid Bennu samples:

• Ribose (5-carbon sugar) — structural backbone of RNA
• Glucose (6-carbon sugar) — primary energy source for Earth life
• "Space gum" — nitrogen-oxygen rich polymers, never seen before in astromaterials
• Supernova dust — 6× higher abundance than any studied meteorite

All five nucleobases (A, G, C, U, T), phosphates, amino acids, and now sugars have been found. Every component needed to build RNA exists in Bennu.

1.2 The τ Framework for Life

From time.plnt.earth, we define temporal charge:

Life, in this framework, is sustained ordered τ-flux: organized exchanges of mass and energy that support:

1. τ-flux (continuous energy/mass cycling from gradients)
2. τ-storage (molecules like ATP, glucose, ribose that hold temporal charge)
3. τ-replication (copying τ patterns across generations via DNA/RNA)

Carbon-based life on Earth uses these three mechanisms. But τ-flux is substrate-independent—any matter transformation that supports these conditions could host life.

1.3 Bennu's Molecules as τ-Storage Units

Ribose stores temporal charge in RNA's sugar-phosphate backbone. RNA's structure allows it to:

• Store genetic information (τ-pattern encoding)
• Catalyze reactions (τ-flux mediation)
• Self-replicate (τ-pattern copying)

Glucose is Earth life's primary τ-flux currency. Through glycolysis, cells extract τ from glucose and transfer it to ATP, which powers nearly all biological processes.

1.4 "Space Gum" as τ-Cycling Scaffold

The nitrogen-oxygen rich polymers found in Bennu are remarkable because they formed before water entered the parent asteroid. This suggests:

• Carbamate (NH₂COOH) polymerized into larger chains
• These polymers became water-resistant after formation
• They represent pre-biological τ-cycling chemistry

The "gum" is flexible, translucent, and becomes brittle under radiation—similar to biological polymers. It's not life, but it's a τ-flux substrate: a material that can store, transfer, and transform temporal charge through chemical reactions.

1.5 Supernova Dust & τ-Density

Bennu contains 6× more presolar dust than any known meteorite. This dust came from supernovae—dying stars that exploded before our solar system formed. Higher supernova dust abundance means:

• Higher initial τ-density (more mass-energy per unit volume)
• More diverse elements (heavier elements forged in supernovae)
• Potential for more complex chemistry

The regions of the protoplanetary disk enriched in stardust had higher τ-flux potential. If τ-flux drives chemical complexity, we'd expect more organized molecules in high-dust regions.

1.6 Test Question for NASA

For the OSIRIS-REx team: Do Bennu samples show correlation between supernova dust abundance and organic complexity (polymer chain length, sugar diversity, molecular weight distributions)? If higher τ-density regions → more organized chemistry, this would support the hypothesis that τ-flux, not random assembly, drives prebiotic molecular complexity.

Specific Test:

1. Measure presolar dust concentration in different Bennu grains
2. Measure organic molecular complexity in the same grains (polymer length, sugar ratios, nucleobase abundance)
3. Plot: [supernova dust abundance] vs [organic complexity index]

Prediction if τ-flux matters: Positive correlation—higher dust = more complex organics

Prediction if chemistry is random: No correlation—dust and organics are independent

1.7 Implications: Asteroids as τ-Life Delivery Systems

Bennu proves that:

• All RNA components existed in the early solar system
• τ-storage molecules (ribose, glucose) formed naturally in asteroids
• τ-cycling scaffolds (polymers) emerged before liquid water
• τ-density gradients (supernova enrichment) may drive molecular organization

Earth didn't have to invent life's ingredients from scratch. Asteroids delivered τ-life precursors. The question isn't "how did life start on Earth?" but "where else did these same precursors land, and what happened there?"

Part 2: Where Else Could τ-Life Emerge?

2.1 Defining τ-Life

Life is not carbon. Life is not DNA. Life is sustained ordered τ-flux. Any system that maintains:

• Continuous mass-energy cycling from gradients
• Storage mechanisms for temporal charge
• Replication with variation

...qualifies as τ-life, regardless of substrate.

2.2 Silicon-Based τ-Life

Silicon can form four bonds like carbon, but prefers oxygen-rich compounds (SiO₂). On Earth, water dissolves silicon chains. But in high-temperature or non-aqueous environments, silicon could form stable τ-cycling scaffolds.

Candidate worlds:

• Hot, dry exoplanets with silicon-rich crusts
• Venus-like atmospheres (sulfuric acid solvents)
• Subsurface lava tubes on rocky planets

Test: Lab synthesis of silicon chains in non-aqueous solvents (liquid ammonia, sulfuric acid). Check if they support τ-storage and polymerization.

2.3 Sulfur & Metal Redox τ-Life

Earth microbes already use sulfur, iron, and manganese for metabolism. Entire τ-biospheres could run on:

• S⁰/S²⁻ cycling (sulfur oxidation/reduction)
• Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺ cycling (iron oxidation/reduction)
• Mn²⁺/Mn⁴⁺ cycling (manganese oxidation/reduction)

Candidate worlds:

• Europa, Enceladus — subsurface oceans with sulfur-rich hydrothermal vents
• Io — active sulfur volcanism
• Mars subsurface — iron-rich ancient aquifers

Test: Analyze plume compositions from Europa/Enceladus. Look for redox disequilibria—sulfur/iron species in ratios inconsistent with equilibrium chemistry, suggesting τ-flux cycling.

2.4 Ammonia/Methane Solvent τ-Life

Water isn't the only solvent. Liquid ammonia (NH₃) or liquid methane (CH₄) could support τ-life at much lower temperatures. On Titan:

• Surface lakes of liquid methane/ethane
• Subsurface ammonia-water ocean
• Nitrogen/hydrogen chemistry dominant

τ-flux would be slower (lower temperatures = slower reactions), but chemically stable over billions of years.

Test: Dragonfly mission to Titan (2034) should look for unexpected CH₄ depletion or N-based polymer chains in lake sediments.

2.5 Plasma τ-Life

In stars, planetary magnetospheres, or ionospheres, ionized matter forms plasmoids—self-organizing electromagnetic structures. If plasmoids can maintain coherence, replicate, and exchange τ via electromagnetic flows, they qualify as τ-life.

Candidate environments:

• Solar corona (Sun's outer atmosphere)
• Jupiter's magnetosphere
• Stellar atmospheres of red giants

Test: Look for non-random plasma instabilities—coherent structures that persist longer than thermodynamic timescales predict, suggesting τ-flux organization.

2.6 Exotic Condensed-Matter τ-Life

Hypothetical τ-life in extreme states of matter:

• Superconducting lattices — τ exchange via Cooper pairs (zero-resistance electron flow)
• Bose-Einstein condensates — τ flux via quantum coherence across macroscopic scales
• Quark-gluon plasma — τ-life in the first microseconds after the Big Bang (?)

These are speculative, but the framework allows them. If a system supports sustained, ordered τ-flux with replication, it's alive by definition.

2.7 Threshold Conditions for τ-Life

For any substrate, τ-life requires:

2.8 Lynn Margulis on the Nature of Life

Lynn Margulis transformed our understanding of life's emergence through her endosymbiosis theory—showing that complex cells arose from simpler organisms merging and cooperating. In her 1995 essay "What is life?", Margulis argued that life is fundamentally about autopoiesis: self-making, self-maintaining systems that continuously regenerate their components.

This aligns perfectly with the τ-flux framework. Autopoiesis is sustained τ-flux: life maintains itself by continuously cycling matter and energy, rebuilding its structure while preserving its pattern. Margulis showed that this process doesn't require a specific chemistry—it requires organization, boundaries, and continuous transformation.

Her work reveals that life can emerge from cooperation between different forms of matter. Mitochondria were once independent bacteria; chloroplasts were once free-living cyanobacteria. If Earth life built complexity through mergers, then τ-life elsewhere might do the same—silicon chains incorporating metal catalysts, plasma vortices exchanging electromagnetic patterns, polymer networks hosting replicating chemical cycles.

2.9 Sara Seager on Detection Strategies

Sara Seager's 2025 work on detecting biosignatures with JWST emphasizes that we must look beyond Earth-centric assumptions. Traditional biosignature searches focus on oxygen, methane, and water—all specific to carbon-based biochemistry in aqueous environments.

Seager proposes searching for thermodynamic disequilibrium: atmospheric compositions that cannot be explained by geology alone. A planet with ammonia and phosphine in the same atmosphere, for instance, suggests active chemistry maintaining an unstable state—a hallmark of life.

This is exactly what τ-flux predicts. Life, regardless of substrate, creates and maintains disequilibrium by cycling energy through matter. Seager's detection strategy—looking for persistent, organized departures from equilibrium—is a search for τ-flux signatures.

For silicon life on hot planets, we'd look for unexpected silicon-fluorine compounds. For plasma life in stellar atmospheres, we'd search for electromagnetic structures with abnormally long coherence times. For Titan's methane lakes, we'd measure nitrogen chemistry that can't be explained by photochemistry alone.

2.10 Detection Strategy

To detect τ-life beyond Earth:

1. Measure disequilibria — chemical or physical states inconsistent with equilibrium
2. Look for organization — patterns, structures, or cycles that persist against entropy
3. Test for replication — do structures copy themselves over time?

Traditional biosignatures (oxygen, methane, phosphine) are Earth-centric. τ-flux signatures are universal.

Conclusion

Bennu delivered ribose, glucose, and polymers—τ-life precursors—to the early solar system. These molecules didn't arise on Earth; they came from space, forged in asteroids enriched with supernova dust.

Life is not a carbon phenomenon. It's a τ-flux phenomenon. Wherever sustained, ordered mass-energy transformations occur with replication, life can emerge—in silicon deserts, sulfur seas, methane lakes, plasma vortices, or states of matter we haven't imagined yet.

Lynn Margulis showed us that life builds complexity through cooperation and merger. Sara Seager showed us how to detect life by its disequilibrium signatures. The τ framework unifies both insights: life is organized τ-flux, detectable through persistent departures from equilibrium, capable of emerging in any substrate that supports continuous transformation.

The question NASA's Bennu samples answer: Are life's ingredients universal?

Yes.

The question they raise: Where else are those ingredients building life right now?

References

1. Furukawa, Y. et al. (2025). Sugars essential to life in samples from asteroid Bennu, Nature Geoscience.
2. Sandford, S. et al. (2025). Nitrogen-oxygen rich polymers in Bennu samples, Nature Astronomy.
3. Nguyen, A. et al. (2025). Abundant supernova dust in asteroid Bennu, Nature Astronomy.
4. Margulis, L. (1995). What is life? Wills, C. & Bada, J. (eds.) in The Spark of Life: Darwin and the Primeval Soup.
5. Seager, S. (2025). Prospects for detecting signs of life on exoplanets in the JWST era. PMC12501172.
6. Schulze-Makuch & Irwin (2006). Life in the Universe: Expectations and Constraints.
7. Benner, S. A. (2010). Defining Life.
8. McKay, C. (2016). Life on Titan?