Tohoku University
Ritsumeikan University
Kyoto University
School of Science, The University of Tokyo

Summary of Presentations

Ryugu is a near-Earth asteroid that gained significant attention when the Japanese Hayabusa2 mission collected samples and returned them to Earth. These samples have proven to offer a treasure trove of insights into the solar systems, including the possible role of asteroids in delivering organic molecules to earth.

Now, a team of scientists have performed an intensive investigation of Ryugu samples, discovering evidence that points to cometary organic matter being transported from space to the near-Earth region. 

Looking ahead, the team hopes to examine Ryugu samples to find more melt splashes that will provide further insights into the influx of primitive space materials into Earth.

The results of this study were published on January 19, 2024 in Science Advances, a journal published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Figure:
(Left) A melt splash discovered on a Ryugu sample surface. The melt splash shows a round shape.
(Right) CT slice image of the melt splash exhibiting abundant voids inside.
License: CC BY-NC, Credit: Megumi Matsumoto et al.

 

Professor Shogo Tachibana of the Department of Earth and Planetary Science, UTokyo Organization for Planetary and Space Science, is the initial analysis team leader for this research.

For more information, visit the Tohoku University website.

Published Journals

Journal Name.	Science Advances
Title of paper	Microstructural and chemical features of impact melts on Ryugu particle surfaces: Records of interplanetary dust hit on asteroid Ryugu.