The discovery of a key component of RNA in samples from asteroid Ryugu adds weight to the theory that basic organic molecules may have arrived on Earth from outer space.
Scientists hope samples of asteroid Ryugu may reveal traces of the chemical ingredients that formed life on Earth.
Asteroid Ryugu photographed from a distance of about 12 miles (20 kilometers) looks just gray and bland, but a close-up provides more color.
JAXA, University of Tokyo, Kochi University, Rikkyo University, Nagoya University, Chiba Institute of Technology, Meiji University, University of Aizu and AIST
It is a pretty spectacular achievement to not only rendezvous with an asteroid as it is whizzing around the Sun but also collect a sample. Here’s what the researchers learned.