Asteroids from the outer Solar System may have brought the building blocks of life to Earth.
New research has revealed important new clues as to how the inner Solar System, including Earth, acquired its water and organic-rich components – the essential building blocks for all life.
The Kochi Team2 has undertaken a detailed study of eight particles returned to Earth from asteroid ‘Ryugu’ by the
In fact, the material contains a lot of water and organic matter. OU experts were able to confirm that the Ryugu samples are very similar to meteorites of the CI (Ivuna-type) chondrite group. These are considered the most important single meteorite group because they have a composition that matches that of our Solar System. They were also able to show that CI chondrites have been contaminated by their interaction with the terrestrial environment.
Because the Ryugu samples were collected and returned to Earth in ultra-clean conditions, they are the most pristine, primitive Solar System samples that we have.
‘More precious than gold dust’
The OU team was comprised of Richard Greenwood, Ross Findlay, Ian Franchi, and James Malley.
Richard Greenwood is a Research Fellow at the OU and supported the study through isotope analysis. Dr. Greenwood explained the importance of the research:
“When Asteroid Ryugu was surveyed in space by the Haybusa2 spacecraft it looked as though the results from the mission might be a bit disappointing. It seemed that materials from which the asteroid was composed had been heated to a high temperature and much of the water stored in them had been lost to space.
“However, while working as part of the Japanese Kochi Team, OU scientists were able to demonstrate that the Ryugu samples were closely similar to the important and unheated CI (Ivuna-type) chondrites. These are materials that have a composition that closely matches that of the Solar System itself, including the Sun. For understanding the chemistry of the Solar System it turns out that the Ryugu materials are more precious gold dust.”
Despite the material from Ryugu being aqueous (of or containing water), low temperatures mean the primary relationships between its minerals and the organic component have been preserved. Isotopic evidence (hydrogen and nitrogen) indicates that the fine-grained minerals and organics seen in the Ryugu particles formed in the outer Solar System.
Because of…
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