February 11, 2025
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Report indicates that water on Earth could have come from asteroids

  • August 25, 2022
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Partial results from samples collected by the Japanese space mission have shown that Earth’s water could have come from asteroids at the extreme edges of the solar system.

Report indicates that water on Earth could have come from asteroids

Partial results from samples collected by the Japanese space mission have shown that Earth’s water could have come from asteroids at the extreme edges of the solar system. The analyzed materials were delivered to the globe in 2020 by collections carried out on the Ryugu asteroid.

The Japanese space probe spent six years on the mission and managed to return 5.3 grams of rocks and dust collected in space. A probe called “Hayabusa-2” was supposed to land on an asteroid to collect material.

In a report published in the journal Nature Astronomy, scientists from Japan and several countries say that the samples that were collected in Ryugu provide clues to a subject that is still the subject of controversy in science. This is because they contain organic elements, which are considered one of the possible sources of water on Earth.

Disclosure / NASA

“Flying C-type asteroids, rich in organic elements, may have been one of the first sources of water on Earth. The arrival of volatile substances – organic elements and water – on Earth is still a matter of considerable controversy, ”said one of the scientists. Astronomy of nature.

Although the result is partial, this is not the first time that scientists have been able to find that important elements present on Earth originated in space. This is because in June of this year, a group of researchers discovered that amino acids were formed outside the Earth.

looking for answers

The mission to Ryugu began in 2014 when Hayabusa 2 was launched into space. To reach the goal, she had to travel about 300 million kilometers. The long journey lasted six years, resulting in the probe returning to Earth orbit in 2020 and launching a sample capsule.

“Ryugu particles are arguably one of the least contaminated materials available in the solar system for laboratory research, and ongoing research on these valuable samples will expand our understanding of early processes in the solar system,” according to a study published in the journal Nature.Astronomy.

The researchers acknowledge that this is an important step in the process of understanding the formation of life on Earth. However, they acknowledge that “this is unlikely to be the only source of volatiles delivered to Earth”, pointing out that volatiles could reach the globe in other ways.


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Hubble files show more than a thousand unknown asteroids

Hubble files show more than a thousand unknown asteroids
The objects were discovered by a group of volunteer researchers analyzing data from the famous telescope.

Via: Oh Globo

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Source: Mundo Conectado

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