Asteroid Ryugu Samples Provide More Clues on the History of the Solar System

Humans have been fascinated by the Solar System as far back as ancient Greece. Now, Japanese researchers are studying the samples of asteroid Ryugu from Japan's Hayabusa2 mission that sent it to Earth in December 2022.

The samples from the near-Earth Ryugu asteroid provide scientists with a glimpse into the composition of solid matter in the outer regions of the Solar System, which could tell its origin and history.

Analysis of Asteroid Ryugu Samples Reveal Its Isotopic Composition

A group of scientists from the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Université Paris Cité, and CNRS1 revealed in their study, titled "Contribution of Ryugu-like Material to Earth's Volatile Inventory by CU and Zn Isotopic Analysis" published in Nature Astronomy, the isotopic composition of zinc and copper of asteroid Ryugu.

The press statement reveals that the new findings shed light on the chemical composition of asteroid Ryugu, which scientists have targeted because it can reveal a lot about the early Solar System.

They analyzed 5 grams of Ryugu samples in which the first analysis was carried out by an international team who found that the composition of the asteroid is the same as the Ivuna-like carbonaceous chondrites, which are believed to be the most chemically primitive meteorites as they closely resemble the composition of the Sun

Moreover, their analysis showed that the Ryugu material represents approximately 5% to 6% of Earth's mass. The data from the analysis provide a fascinating window into the early evolution of the Solar System. The zinc isotopic composition of the asteroid can be used to study the acrretion history of volatile elements on Earth, which makes it a habitable planet.

Confirming the similarity between Ryugu and the Ivuna-like carbonaceous chondrites in the study establishes that these primitive samples from Ryugu represent the best estimate of the composition of the Solar system to date for copper and zinc.

JAXA's Hyabusa2 Mission

Japan's space agency JAXA chose the Ryugu asteroid because of its high carbon content, making it a strong candidate to study the information about the origin of life in the Solar System, according to Interesting Engineering.

Previous analysis of the asteroid showed that it was originally part of a parent asteroid in the outer solar nebula where much of Earth's water is believed to come from.

JAXA launched the Hyabus2 mission in December 2014 and arrived at Ryugu in June 2018, deploying two rovers and a small lander on its surface. Then in February 2019, Hyabusa2 fired an impactor on the asteroid to create a crater where it could retrieve rock samples.

After that, the spacecraft made its way home and returned a capsule containing the samples of the asteroid Ryugu to Earth in December 2020. The spacecraft released its capsule into the atmosphere for a parachute-assisted landing over a rural part of Australia before it continues its journey to another asteroid.

JAXA will continue to look for more asteroid samples to help scientists learn more about the Solar System and gain insights about its origin, history, and how it affected the way of life on Earth.