Origin of Life on Earth came from an Asteroid? Asteroid Ryugu reveals the TRUTH
The origin of life on Earth has been one of the most mysterious questions that has puzzled humanity. There have been multiple theories around it. Theories ranging from volcanic eruptions giving rise to spontaneous rise of life to biochemical evolutions taking millions of years to form the complex organic structure that forms the basis of life have been strong contenders. But it appears that all of these may have been wrong. At least that is what scientists studying the samples from asteroid Ryugu suggest. The samples reveal traces of amino acids, which are the building blocks of life. It might be the case that life emerged on Earth as a result of an asteroid strike billions of years ago.
In December 2014, Japan launched its second asteroid sampling mission Hayabusa2 which met with asteroid Ryugu in 2018. The spacecraft took two samples – one from the surface of the asteroid and the other from underneath the surface by creating a small crater. Hayabusa2 returned to Earth in December 2020, following which the scientists have been researching the samples. The scientists shared their findings of a lengthy chemical analysis at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 2022, which is taking place virtually in Texas this week.
The total amount of sample collected by Hayabusa2 was 5.4 grams. After a detailed investigation on the chemical profile of the sample, scientists believe that they may have found a window to not only the origin of life on Earth but also to the solar system itself. “The Ryugu material is the most primitive material in the solar system we have ever studied,” said Hisayoshi Yurimoto, a geoscience professor at Hokkaido University of Japan and the leader of the chemical analysis team of Hayabusa 2 as reported
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