Asteroid samples contains some of the 'most primordial materials' in solar system
Over a six-year mission, the Japanese Hayabusa 2 probe delicately chipped and hacked samples off the Ryugu asteroid.
Now researchers are saying the space rock could help solve mysteries of the universe, including how an early solar system formed and how water and other key elements travelled to Earth.
In a paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy, astronomers have reported the samples, which amount to 5.4 grams, contain some of the "most primordial materials".
It's one of two studies recently published on the samples.
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The samples collected from the C-type asteroid Ryugu have never been exposed to Earth's atmosphere. Yada, et al.; Nature Astronomy
Lead author of the first analysis Cédric Pilorget at the University of Paris-Saclay in France said while the samples are small, they provide clues about how the universe formed.
"Although most of these compounds are minor in terms of quantity – a few per cent at maximum – they have a high potential in tracing some of the processes that occurred in the earlier stages of the formation of the solar system and, later on, Ryugu's parent body," he said.
Ryugu is extremely porous and dark, astronomers in the second analysis concluded. AP
The second analysis found Ryugu is extremely porous and dark; it only reflects 2 per cent of light that hits the surface.
"Globally, Ryugu is confirmed to be much darker than most meteorites," the authors wrote in the study.
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The Hayabusa-2 spacecraft reached the asteroid Ryugu in June 2018 after a three-and-a-half-year journey to the space rock JAXA, University of Tokyo, Kochi University, Rikkyo University, Nagoya University, Chiba Institute of Technology, Meiji University, University of Aizu, AIST
Ryugu is a near-earth asteroid that poses no risk to our blue planet.
It's rich in carbon, which is why it's classified as a carbonaceous or C-type asteroid, measures about 900 metres in diameter and orbits the Sun between Earth and Mars.
C-type asteroids like Ryugu are believed to act as a parent body to water and carbon-bearing meteorites.
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