Asteroid Ryugu: New knowledge about the origins of life!

Asteroid Ryugu: New knowledge about the origins of life!

Munich - The fascinating question of how life on earth has arisen has been going to be driven around the scientists for centuries. New studies now suggest that asteroids could have played an important role in this process. This is based on the striking results of an international team of researchers that analyzed rehearsals from the asteroid Ryugu. These rehearsals were brought to Earth by the Japanese spacecraft "Hayabusa 2" during their mission in 2020.

The "Hayabusa 2" spacecraft was sent by the Japanese space agency Jaxa to the near-earth Apollo-Sanoid Ryugu, which was discovered in 1999. Ryugu has an orbit around the sun, similar to the earth, and the rehearsals collected come from both the surface and from the dust of the asteroid. The return of these samples triggered a wave of analyzes to research the chemical composition and the history of the asteroid.

Important chemical elements discovered

The researchers have proven a variety of hydrated connections in the samples, including magnesium, ammonium and phosphorus. These elements can be viewed as "building blocks of life" and indicate that asteroids carry not only orbitals but also hospital chemistry that potentially contributed to the development of life on earth.

The discovery of ammonium is particularly important because it can provide hydrogen and nitrogen in chemical decomposition. These elements are crucial for the formation of amino acids and other vital molecules that form the basis for living organisms. An interesting theory is that these chemicals come from the depths of space, possibly beyond Jupiter because they would not have survived near the sun.

asteroids as a life charm?

In a recently published study in the Nature Astronomy trade magazine, the researchers argue that the phosphorry grains they identified could have played a significant role than they are immersed in primitive water reservoirs on earth. These grains, referred to as "Hamp" (an acronym for hydrated ammonium magnesium-phosphorus-rich composition), could have been crucial for the development of organic matter in the direction of a biochemical evolution.

The results of this study could have far -reaching implications for our understanding of the origins of life. Not only that asteroids such as Ryugu contain valuable information about the chemical processes that led to the formation of life on earth, but they could also offer new perspectives in search of extraterrestrial life.

The exciting discovery of the researchers also provides information on how the necessary prerequisites for life can occur under extreme conditions in space. This opens up questions about possible life forms on other planets and asteroids and makes the idea appear more tangible than ever before.

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