Life-Building Organic Molecules Found in Samples from Asteroid Ryugu

We would know the conclusion when they conclude, but the idea of life 'arriving' on Earth from space is in itself thrilling! Now, scientists have found something on asteroid Ryugu that would give strength to this argument.

Analysis of samples collected from asteroid Ryugu has revealed that the asteroid is rich in organic molecules that can form the building blocks of life! These samples were collected by Hayabusa2, a Japanese asteroid-sampling spacecraft. The spacecraft was launched in 2014 by Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). On June 27, 2018, the spacecraft approached Ryugu and started collecting samples. Hayabusa 2 returned to Earth in 2020.

Scientists have discovered that asteroid Ryugu has what are called 'prebiotic organics' that included several amino acids which are used by living organisms to build proteins that form hair and muscles.

So far, the amino acid results from Ryugu are mostly consistent with what has been seen in certain types of carbon-rich (carbonaceous) meteorites that have been exposed to the most water in space," research co-author and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center scientist, Jason Dworkin, as quoted by Space.com.

"The presence of prebiotic molecules on the asteroid surface despite its harsh environment caused by solar heating and ultraviolet irradiation, as well as cosmic-ray irradiation under high-vacuum conditions, suggests that the uppermost surface grains of Ryugu have the potential to protect organic molecules," research lead author and Kyushu University researcher Hiroshi Naraoka, said in a statement.

So Ryugu has chemicals that make hair and muscles. Does this mean that there is some hunky alien skulking on the space rock? Well, no evidence of that yet.

But if life-building molecules were brought to Earth from elsewhere in space, that makes us aliens on Earth right? OMG!