More than 20 types of amino acids have been detected in samples from the Japanese space probe Hayabusa 2 that brought it to Earth from an asteroid in late 2020, an official said Monday.
Education Ministry officials said the acid found was a very important ingredient for living organisms and could be a clue to understanding the origin of life.
In December 2020, the capsule carrying Hayabusa 2 on a six-year mission transported more than 5.4 grams of surface material to Earth from the asteroid Ryugu, which lies more than 300 million km away.
Image file of asteroid Ryugu captured by Hayabusa 2 in November 2019 (Photo courtesy of JAXA) (Kyodo)
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Ryugu’s investigation aims to unravel the mystery of the origin of the solar system and life. Previous sample analysis indicated the presence of water and organic matter.
A full probe of the sample was launched in 2021 by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and national research institutes including the University of Tokyo and Hiroshima University.
Amino acids are substances that make protein and are indispensable for life.
Although it is not known how amino acids got to the primordial Earth, one theory holds that they came from meteorites, with amino acids found in meteorites found on Earth. But there is also the possibility that they are installed in the ground.