Water may have been brought to Earth by asteroids from the outer reaches of the solar system, scientists said after analyzing rare samples collected on a six-year Japanese space mission.
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.
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 Astronomy of Naturescientists 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.
Graphic explaining how Japan’s Hayabusa-2 space probe flew asteroid samples to Earth in December 2020 before launching a new mission.
But the organic materials found “in the Ryugu particles identified in this study likely represent a significant source of volatiles.”
The scientists speculated that such material probably has an “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 Astronomy of Nature study, the researchers again welcomed the findings made possible by the mission.
“Ryugu particles are undoubtedly among the most pristine 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.
Asteroid samples contain ‘clues for the origin of life’: Japanese scientists More information: Motoo Ito et al, A pristine record of outer solar system materials from the returned sample of asteroid Ryugu, Astronomy of Nature (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41550-022-01745-5
© 2022 AFP
Reference: Space mission shows Earth’s water may come from asteroids: study (2022, August 16) Retrieved August 16, 2022, from
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