Discovery of Amino Acids , in Ryugu Asteroid Samples , Could Hint at Extraterrestrial Life.
Over 20 types of amino acids were detected in a sample returned to Earth by Japan's Hayabusa2 space probe.
Over 20 types of amino acids were detected in a sample returned to Earth by Japan's Hayabusa2 space probe.
'Kyodo News' reports that the findings show for the first time that the organic compounds exist on asteroids in space.
Amino acids are essential building blocks for all living things.
Japan's education ministry said the discovery could broaden our understanding of the origins of life.
In December 2020, Hayabusa2 returned to Earth carrying over 5.4 grams of surface material from the Ryugu asteroid.
'Kyodo News' reports that previous analysis of the samples revealed traces of water and other organic material.
Kensei Kobayashi, professor emeritus of astrobiology at Yokohama National University, said the discovery suggest amino acids are likely to be found on other planets.
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Proving amino acids exist in the subsurface of asteroids increases the likelihood that the compounds arrived on Earth from space, Kensei Kobayashi, professor emeritus of astrobiology at Yokohama National University, via 'Kyodo News'.
Life could have been born in more places in the universe than previously thought, Kensei Kobayashi, professor emeritus of astrobiology at Yokohama National University, via 'Kyodo News'.
Hayabusa's mission launched in 2014 and reached Ryugu in June of 2018 to collect the first-ever subsurface samples from an asteroid
