toyoyome

I realize that the probability of the object having originated from a star system conducive to supporting life is extremely low, but it looks to me that this would be a very good opportunity to look for evidence of life in distant systems at a close range. Has there been an attempt to find out if the object has any traces of biological / organic matter on it to test this?

I'm proud to say that our local university (I'm from Arizona) is involved in the field of asteroid sample return - the OSIRIS-Rex mission! I'm looking forward to the results of this mission, and to later missions of the sort that advance our understanding of the vast galaxy we inhabit.

Thanks for the answer! It would be very exciting indeed if we were able to get samples of extrastellar (is that a word?) matter to study! Hope it happens in our time!