Asteroid samples contain ‘clues to origin of life’: Japan scientists (Image Credit: Space Daily)
Asteroid dust collected by a Japanese space probe contains organic material that shows some of the building blocks of life on Earth may have been formed in space, scientists said Friday.
Pristine material from the asteroid Ryugu was brought back to Earth in 2020 after a six-year mission to the celestial body around 300 million kilometres away.
But scientists are only just beginning to discover its secrets in the first studies on small portions of the 5.4 grams (0.2 ounces) of dust and dark, tiny rocks.
In one paper published 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 to the origin of life on Earth”.
“The discovery of protein-forming amino acids is important, because Ryugu has not been exposed to the Earth’s biosphere, like meteorites, and as such their detection proves that at least some of the building blocks of life on Earth could have been formed in space environments,” the study said.
The team said they found 23 different types of amino acid while examining the sample collected by Japan’s Hayabusa-2 probe in 2019.
The dust and rocks were stirred up when the fridge-sized spacecraft fired an “impactor” into 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.
It is believed that part of the material was created about five million years after the birth of the solar system and has not been heated above 100 degrees Celsius (210 degrees Fahrenheit).
Another study published in the US-based journal “Science” said the material has “a chemical composition that more closely resembles the Sun’s photosphere than other natural samples”.
Kensei Kobayashi, an astrobiology expert and professor emeritus at Yokohama National University, hailed the discovery.
“Scientists have been questioning how organic matter — including amino acids — was created or where it came from, and the fact that amino acids were discovered in the sample offers a reason to think that amino acids were brought to Earth from outer space,” he told AFP.
Another mainstream theory about the origin of amino acids is that they were created in Earth’s primitive atmosphere through lightning strikes, for example, after Earth cooled down.
Related Links
Lands Beyond Beyond – extra solar planets – news and science
Life Beyond Earth
|
|
Tweet |
|
|
|
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook – our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don’t have a paywall – with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution. |
||
|
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5+ Billed Monthly |
 |
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal |
Planets of binary stars as possible homes for alien life
Copenhagen, Denmark (SPX) May 24, 2022
Nearly half of Sun-size stars are binary. According to University of Copenhagen research, planetary systems around binary stars may be very different from those around single stars. This points to new targets in the search for extraterrestrial life forms.
Since the only known planet with life, the Earth, orbits the Sun, planetary systems around stars of similar size are obvious targets for astronomers trying to locate extraterrestrial life. Nearly every second star in that category is a binary sta … read more
