This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Edi

Ryugu sample analyses show asteroids may have delivered compounds needed to start life on Earth

submited by

Style Pass

2024-10-09 12:00:36

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

An international team of researchers with a wide range of backgrounds has found evidence of asteroids providing the compounds necessary for life to get its start on Earth. In their paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy, the group describes their study of a small sample of material collected from Ryugu that was brought back to Earth.

In 2014, the Japanese space agency JAXA launched a rocket holding a space probe called Hayabusa2 that was sent to Ryugu—a C-type asteroid that has roughly the same orbit around the sun as the Earth. Once it reached its target, the probe collected surface samples and also dust collision samples, both of which were returned to Earth in 2020.

Since that time, the samples collected by the probe have been studied by a host of teams looking to learn different things about the asteroid and its history. In this new study, the research team examined a collision sample from Ryugu looking for evidence of asteroids as the source of many of the compounds needed for life on Earth.