Soluble organic molecules in samples of the carbonaceous asteroid (162173) Ryugu.
Hiroshi NaraokaYoshinori TakanoJason P DworkinYasuhiro ObaKenji HamaseAogu FurushoNanako O OgawaMinako HashiguchiKazuhiko FukushimaDan AokiPhilippe Schmitt-KopplinJosé C AponteEric T ParkerDaniel P GlavinHannah L McLainJamie E ElsilaHeather V GrahamJohn M EilerFrancois-Regis Orthous-DaunayCédric WoltersJunko IsaVéronique VuittonRoland ThissenSaburo SakaiToshihiro YoshimuraToshiki KogaNaohiko OhkouchiYoshihito ChikaraishiHaruna SugaharaHajime MitaYoshihiro FurukawaNorbert HertkornAlexander RufHisayoshi YurimotoTomoki NakamuraTakaaki NoguchiRyuji OkazakiHikaru YabutaKanako SakamotoShogo TachibanaHarold C ConnollyDante S LaurettaMasanao AbeToru YadaMasahiro NishimuraKasumi YogataAiko NakatoMiwa YoshitakeAyako I SuzukiAkiko MiyazakiShizuho FuruyaKentaro HatakedaHiromichi SoejimaYuya HitomiKazuya KumagaiTomohiro UsuiTasuku HayashiDaiki YamamotoRyohta FukaiKohei KitazatoSeiji SugitaNoriyuki NamikiMasahiko ArakawaHitoshi IkedaMasateru IshiguroNaru HirataKoji WadaYoshiaki IshiharaRina NoguchiTomokatsu MorotaNaoya SakataniKoji MatsumotoHiroki SenshuRie HondaEri TatsumiYasuhiro YokotaChikatoshi HondaTatsuhiro MichikamiMoe MatsuokaAkira MiuraHirotomo NodaTetsuya YamadaKeisuke YoshiharaKosuke KawaharaMasanobu OzakiYu-Ichi IijimaHajime YanoMasahiko HayakawaTakahiro IwataRyudo TsukizakiHirotaka SawadaSatoshi HosodaKazunori OgawaChisato OkamotoNaoyuki HirataKei ShiraiYuri ShimakiManabu YamadaTatsuaki OkadaYukio YamamotoHiroshi TakeuchiAtsushi FujiiYuto TakeiKento YoshikawaYuya MimasuGo OnoNaoko OgawaShota KikuchiSatoru NakazawaFuyuto TeruiSatoshi TanakaTakanao SaikiMakoto YoshikawaSei'ichiro WatanabeYuichi TsudaPublished in: Science (New York, N.Y.) (2023)
The Hayabusa2 spacecraft collected samples from the surface of the carbonaceous near-Earth asteroid (162173) Ryugu and brought them to Earth. The samples were expected to contain organic molecules, which record processes that occurred in the early Solar System. We analyzed organic molecules extracted from the Ryugu surface samples. We identified a variety of molecules containing the atoms CHNOS, formed by methylation, hydration, hydroxylation, and sulfurization reactions. Amino acids, aliphatic amines, carboxylic acids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and nitrogen-heterocyclic compounds were detected, which had properties consistent with an abiotic origin. These compounds likely arose from an aqueous reaction on Ryugu's parent body and are similar to the organics in Ivuna-type meteorites. These molecules can survive on the surfaces of asteroids and be transported throughout the Solar System.