In an effort to shed light on the origins of life and the formation of the universe, researchers are scrutinizing material returned to Earth in 2020 by asteroid Ryugu. For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or through the app. The 5.4 grams (0.2 ounces) of rocks and dust were collected by a Japanese space probe, called Hayabusa-2, which landed on the celestial body and launched an “impactor” onto its surface. Studies of the material have begun to be published, and in June a team of researchers said they had found organic material that showed some of the building blocks of life on Earth, amino acids, may have formed in space. In a new paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy, scientists said the Ryugu samples could provide clues to the mystery of how oceans appeared on Earth billions of years ago. “C-type volatile and organic-rich asteroids may have been one of Earth’s main sources of water,” said the study by scientists from Japan and other countries, published Monday. “The delivery of volatiles (i.e., organics and water) to Earth is still a matter of considerable debate,” he said. But the organic materials found “in the Ryugu particles identified in this study likely represent a significant source of volatiles.” The scientists hypothesized that such material is likely “of outer solar system origin,” but said it is “unlikely to be the only source of volatiles delivered to the early Earth.” Hayabusa-2 launched in 2014 on its mission to Ryugu, about 300 million kilometers away, and returned to Earth orbit two years ago to drop a capsule containing the sample. In the Nature Astronomy study, the researchers again hailed the findings made possible by the mission. “Ryugu particles are arguably among the most uncontaminated Solar System materials available for laboratory study, and continued investigations of these precious samples will certainly expand our understanding of the early processes of the Solar System,” the study said. Read more: Asteroid samples contain ‘clues for the origin of life’, Japanese scientists report
