Posted: 10/06/2022 – 06:36 Modified: 10/06/2022 – 06:34
Tokyo (AFP) – Asteroid dust collected by a Japanese space probe contains organic material showing that some of the components of life on Earth could have formed in space, scientists said on Friday.
The pristine material of the asteroid Ryugu was returned to Earth in 2020 after a six-year mission to the celestial body some 300 million kilometers away.
But scientists are just beginning to discover their secrets in early studies of small portions of 5.4 grams (0.2 ounces) of dark, tiny dust and rocks.
In an article published on Friday, a group of researchers led by Okayama University in western Japan said they had discovered “amino acids and other organic matter that could give clues about the origin of life on Earth.” .
“The discovery of amino acids that make up proteins is important, because Ryugu has not been exposed to the Earth’s biosphere, like meteorites, and as such its detection shows that at least some of the components of life on Earth could be exposed. have formed in space. environments, “the study said.
The team said they found 23 different types of amino acids while examining the sample collected by Japan’s Hayabusa-2 probe in 2019.
Dust and rocks shook as a refrigerator-sized spacecraft fired an “impactor” at the asteroid.
“The Ryugu sample has the most primitive characteristics of any natural sample available to mankind, including meteorites,” the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said in a statement.
Part of the material is believed to have been created about five million years after the birth of the solar system and has not warmed above 100 degrees Celsius (210 degrees Fahrenheit).
Another study published in the American journal Science said the material has “a chemical composition that looks more like the Sun’s photosphere than other natural samples.”
Kensei Kobayashi, an astrobiology expert and professor emeritus at Yokohama National University, praised the discovery.
“Scientists have questioned how organic matter was created, including amino acids, or where it came from, and the fact that amino acids were discovered in the sample provides a reason to think that amino acids were brought to Earth. from outer space, “he told AFP.
Another dominant theory about the origin of amino acids is that they were created in the Earth’s primitive atmosphere through lightning, for example, after the Earth cooled.
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