The discovery of water on an asteroid may shed light on the origin of life on Earth
Astronomers say that an environment "similar to the oceans on Earth" is likely to be found in the interior of the asteroid "Ryugu".
The analysis revealed "coral reef-like crystals" that grew from the liquid waters in which the "Ryugu" is incubated (Reuters)
Astronomers have discovered the presence of liquid water trapped in crystals within rock samples brought from the asteroid "Ryugu" as it is called, which is 300 million kilometers (186 million miles) from Earth.
Samples of the asteroid were found containing a range of minerals , including rich particles of calcium and aluminum, and magnetic minerals such as magnetite, as well as gaseous water containing salts and organic materials.
The Japanese space probe Hayabusa2 of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) brought these samples to Earth for analysis in 2020.
The findings, published in the journal Science on Friday, provide additional evidence to support the theory that life, or pre-life [permitted] particles, on Earth may have originated in space .
JAXA said in a statement: “Liquid water was found trapped in crystals in the sample and the water was kept in micron-sized voids” [a unit of measure used to express the size of a tiny object].
In the study, scientists analyzed 17 samples taken from the asteroid "Ryugu" measuring one - eight millimeters, where they found a crystal of "iron sulfide peridotite" that contains carbonated water.
The researchers pointed out that the parent space rock from which the asteroid "Ryugu" came from was born in the darkness of a stellar gas cloud centered in a place, far from sunlight.
They said that this parent body includes differences in the ratio of water to rocks between the surface and the interior, while the rocks deeper under the surface contain more water.
According to a simulation carried out by scientists, the parent body of the asteroid "Ryugu" gathered about two million years after the formation of the solar system, and then its temperature rose to about 50 degrees Celsius over the next three million years, which resulted in chemical reactions between water and rocks.
It was found that the samples loaded from the asteroid contain some materials close to the surface of the parent body before its impact, and some of them are from inside the parent space rock.
The scientists also likened the hardness of the samples to that of igneous rocks found on Earth, which makes them soft and allows for easy cutting with a blade.
The researchers found a variety of minerals in the rock fragments, which they say can be traced back to the different conditions of chemical reactions with water.
In the opinion of scientists, it is likely that aqueous minerals, including "silicates" and carbonate compounds discovered in the asteroid sample, were formed when raw materials in the parent body reacted with water and carbon dioxide in the interior of the giant space rock.
Based on the state and stability of some of these minerals, the researchers said that the water temperature in some parts of the parent rock may have reached about 25 degrees Celsius.
Other studies also showed that the iron magnetite minerals present in the "Ryugu" samples formed "surprisingly low" temperatures, reaching below 40 degrees Celsius.
The new analysis also revealed "coral-like crystals" that grew from the liquid waters in which the Ryugu holds.
Based on these results, the researchers said that an environment "more like oceans on the surface of planet Earth" exists in the interior of "Ryugu", adding that asteroids containing water such as "Ryugu" are widespread in the solar system and outnumber the unmanned bodies. water.
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