Japanese space mission shows, asteroids may be the source of Earth’s water

After analyzing unique samples obtained during a six year Japanese space mission, scientists speculated that water may are transported to Earth by asteroids from the extreme reaches of the solar system. Researchers are studying the debris returned to earth in  December 2020 from the asteroid Ryugu in an attempt to give light on the beginnings of life and the creation of the universe. The Japanese Hayabusa-2 space probe, which touched down on the Ryugu (asteroid) and launched an “impactor” into its surface, collected the 5.4 grams of pebbles and mud.

Two years ago, Hayabusa-2 made its way back to Earth’s orbit to release a capsule containing the sample.

Studies on the fabric are starting to be published, and in June one team of researchers said that they had discovered organic material that suggested that some of the amino acids, the elemental components of life on Earth, may have evolved in space. According to a recent study that was published in the Nature Astronomy journal, the Ryugu samples may hold the key to solving the puzzle of how seas first arose on Earth billions of years ago. The study, conducted by researchers from Japan and other nations, was released recently. It suggested that volatile and organic-rich C-type asteroids may be one of the main suppliers of Earth’s water.  According to the report, “there is still a great deal of controversy around the supply of volatiles (such as water and organics) to the world.”

However, the organic substances discovered “in Ryugu particles, revealed during this study, likely represent one key source of volatiles.” Although they noted that it was “unlikely to have been the only source of volatiles transported to the early Earth,” they also noted that such material “probably had an outer Solar System origin.” Hayabusa-2 recently returned to Earth’s orbit after being launched in 2014 on a mission to Ryugu, which is located approximately 30 crore kilometers away, in order to deliver a capsule containing the sample.

Illustration showing the process by which the Japanese Hayabusa-2 space mission returned asteroid samples to Earth in December 2020

In this publication, it is said that Ryugu particles are without a doubt among the purest Solar System elements that are currently available for laboratory investigation. Ongoing examination of those precious samples will probably improve our understanding of early Solar System activity.

Last Updated on August 17, 2022 by Sonkamble Satish