If so, it could mean that consciousness already existed before life formed on Earth, some scientists think. Tantalizing evidence in the Bennu sample suggests that the asteroid contains constituents of the “primordial soup” that scientists believe likely led to life emerging on Earth. It could also contain particular molecules that could have formed crystalline formations that some scientists believe are key to consciousness. It’s also found in DNA, RNA and other molecules, Hameroff said, so they hope to find evidence of it in the Bennu material. “These are the same molecules which are the basis of organic chemistry, and life,” Hameroff says.