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Ryugu asteroid samples offer insight into early years of the solar system

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2022-09-23 18:00:18

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Ryugu is located millions of kilometres away from Earth, with the exact distance fluctuating as both orbit the Sun. Image © JAXA, University of Tokyo, Kochi University, Rikkyo University, Nagoya University, Chiba Institute of Technology, Meiji University, University of Aizu and AIST

Museum researchers are among those analysing the most pristine asteroid samples ever returned to Earth to reveal what the early solar system could have been like.

Samples returned from the asteroid Ryugu by the Hayabusa2 probe in 2020 have revealed hints about some of the events that took place as the Sun and its planets formed, after being analysed by an international team of scientists, including researchers from the Museum.

They found that the asteroid was once part of a much larger body that formed relatively early in the history of the solar system and was chemically altered as melting ice reacted with the minerals it contained.