BackEarth's water may have come from...: Study reveals how life was created on our planet
Researchers said they found organic material which showed that some of the building blocks of life on Earth, amino acids, may have been formed in space.
PremiumPeople curious about Earth science, often wonder how life was formed and how water was created. Giving food to thier inquisitive mind, a recent study said revealed that water may have been brought to Earth by asteroids from the outer edges of the solar system.
For the study, the researchers examined the samples collected on a six-year Japanese space mission. The samples were brought back to earth in 2020 from the asteroid Ryugu. The 5.4 grams (0.2 ounces) of rocks and dust were gathered by a Japanese space probe called Hayabusa-2.
Now as the experts have started publishing the studies involving the samples, one group said they had found organic material which showed that some of the building blocks of life on Earth, amino acids, may have been formed in space.
A paper published in Nature Astronomy cited that the Ryugu samples could give clues to the mystery of how oceans appeared on Earth billions of years ago.
"Volatile and organic-rich C-type asteroids may have been one of the main sources of Earth's water," said the study by scientists from Japan and other countries, published Monday.
"The delivery of volatiles (that is, organics and water) to the Earth is still a subject of notable debate," it said.
But the organic materials found "in Ryugu particles, identified in this study, probably represent one important source of volatiles".
The scientists hypothesised that such material probably has an "outer Solar System origin", but said it was "unlikely to be the only source of volatiles delivered to the early Earth".
The paper also said, “Ryugu particles are undoubtedly among the most uncontaminated Solar System materials available for laboratory study and ongoing investigations of these precious samples will certainly expand our understanding of early Solar System processes."
Hayabusa-2 was launched in 2014 on its mission to Ryugu, around 300 million kilometres away, and returned to Earth's orbit two years ago to drop off a capsule containing the sample.
(With inputs from agencies)
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