Water may have come to Earth via an asteroid from the outer edge of the Solar System, scientists have suggested after analyzing rare samples collected during the six-year Japanese space mission.
In search of answers to questions about the origin of life and the creation of the universe, scientists are processing material brought to Earth in 2020 from the asteroid Ryugu.
The Japanese space probe Hayabusa-2, which landed on a space body and launched an "impactor" into its surface, collected 5,4 grams of rocks and dust, Hina agency reports.
Research conducted on that material is beginning to be published, and in June a group of scientists said they had found organic material, indicating that some amino acids may have originated in space.
In research published in the journal Nature Astronomy, scientists said samples from Ryugu could explain how oceans formed on Earth billions of years ago.
"C-type asteroids, which are full of organic material, may be one of the main sources of water on Earth," says a study conducted by scientists from Japan and other countries.
"The arrival of volatile substances (organic and water) on Earth is still a matter of debate," the research claims.
But the organic material found "in Ryugu particles, identified in this research, likely represents an important source of volatiles."
The scientists hypothesize that the material likely originated "outside the solar system," but that "it is unlikely that it was the only source of volatile substances that came to Earth at its beginning":
Hayabusa-2 was launched in 2014 on a mission to Ryugu, some 300 million kilometers away, and returned to Earth orbit two years ago to drop a sample capsule.
In a study published in the journal Nature Astronomy, scientists hailed the findings made possible by the mission.
"Ryugu particles are undoubtedly one of the purest materials from the Solar System that we have available for laboratory research, so examining these valuable samples will certainly expand our understanding of the development process of the Solar System," the research states.
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