Samples of Ryugu Asteroid , Contain Clues About, Our Solar System.
'Newsweek' reports that a new study has revealed that ancient asteroid samples contain clues about Earth and the early solar system.
The study presents the findings from the 2019 Japanese Hayabusa2 mission by state space agency JAXA.
The spacecraft retrieved 5 grams of samples from the asteroid Ryugu.
According to researchers at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, particles from the asteroid are "pristine" and offer never before seen clues about the solar system.
Ryugu particles are the most uncontaminated and unfractionated extraterrestrial materials studied so far, and provide the best available match to the bulk Solar System composition, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology study, via 'Newsweek'.
'Newsweek' reports that these untouched particles could provide vital information on how life was formed on Earth.
Volatile and organic-rich C-type asteroids may have been one of the main sources of Earth's water, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology study, via 'Newsweek'.
Our best insight into their chemistry is currently provided by carbonaceous chondritic meteorites, but the meteorite record is biased: , Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology study, via 'Newsweek'.
... only the strongest types survive atmospheric entry and are then modified by interaction with the terrestrial environment, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology study, via 'Newsweek'.
Details of the team's findings were published in 'Nature Astronomy.'
