A 5.4 g sample was collected by the Hayabusza-2 probe from the asteroid Ryugu. The analysis was published in the scientific journal Science on Friday. “This drop of water has great significance,” said Nakamura Tomoki, a senior researcher at Tohoku University.
Many scientists believe that water came to Earth from outer space, but this is the first time that water has been found in an asteroid near our planet.
It is to explain. Hajabusza-2 began its mission in 2014 and returned with the sample two years ago. So far, the precious payload has provided some surprises: Among other things, organic materials have been found that are the building blocks of life on Earth.
The latest discovery was a carbonated water droplet that contained salt and organic matter. This supports the theory that asteroids that collided with Earth may have left water containing salt and organic matter on our planet. According to Nakamura, they may have found a missing link, which may be directly related to the appearance of oceans or organic matter on Earth. page.
Nakamura’s entire team consists of about 150 researchers. Thirty American, British, French, Italian and Chinese researchers are also involved in analyzing a sample from Ryugu. The sample is analyzed in several groups to increase the chance of new discoveries.
