Photo/Illutration Soil from the asteroid Ryugu brought back by the Hayabusa 2 space probe (Provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)

Soil samples collected from the asteroid Ryugu by Japan's Hayabusa 2 space probe contain organic substances, a discovery that will likely provide clues to the origin of life on Earth, according to researchers' preliminary analysis. 

“We were able to prove that Ryugu retains the building blocks of the solar system,” said Toru Yada, an associate senior researcher at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Yada and other researchers published two research papers in the science journal Nature Astronomy on Dec. 20.

It is the first time that the preliminary results of an analysis of the soil samples, which were returned to Earth last December, have been published.

The researchers used an optical microscope to examine the soil samples collected from and below the surface of Ryugu. They captured the wavelength that indicates the existence of hydrocarbons, a constituent of organic substances.

The samples also contain hydroxyl (OH) and carbonates, which the researchers say prove that Ryugu’s parent body contained water.

The researchers also confirmed that the samples are black and fragile. They said the finding almost matches what they can see in images taken from above Ryugu by Hayabusa 2 and that the samples represent the general nature of the asteroid.

“We are rejoicing at discovering new characteristics (of the soil) every time we identify them,” said Seiji Sugita, a professor of planetary science at the University of Tokyo, who also participated in the studies. “We’ll conduct further analysis to determine what kind of organic substances the samples have.”

One of the papers is available at: (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-021-01550-6). The other is at: (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-021-01549-z).

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