Soluble organic molecules in samples of the carbonaceous asteroid (162173) Ryugu

Hiroshi Naraoka, Yoshinori Takano, Jason P. Dworkin, Yasuhiro Oba, Kenji Hamase, Aogu Furusho, Nanako O. Ogawa, Minako Hashiguchi, Kazuhiko Fukushima, Dan Aoki, Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin, José C. Aponte, Eric T. Parker, Daniel P. Glavin, Hannah L. McLain, Jamie E. Elsila, Heather V. Graham, John M. Eiler, Francois Regis Orthous-Daunay, Cédric WoltersJunko Isa, Véronique Vuitton, Roland Thissen, Saburo Sakai, Toshihiro Yoshimura, Toshiki Koga, Naohiko Ohkouchi, Yoshito Chikaraishi, Haruna Sugahara, Hajime Mita, Yoshihiro Furukawa, Norbert Hertkorn, Alexander Ruf, Hisayoshi Yurimoto, Tomoki Nakamura, Takaaki Noguchi, Ryuji Okazaki, Hikaru Yabuta, Kanako Sakamoto, Shogo Tachibana, Harold C. Connolly, Dante S. Lauretta, Masanao Abe, Toru Yada, Masahiro Nishimura, Kasumi Yogata, Aiko Nakato, Miwa Yoshitake, Ayako Suzuki, Akiko Miyazaki, Shizuho Furuya, Kentaro Hatakeda, Hiromichi Soejima, Yuya Hitomi, Kazuya Kumagai, Tomohiro Usui, Tasuku Hayashi, Daiki Yamamoto, Ryota Fukai, Kohei Kitazato, Seiji Sugita, Noriyuki Namiki, Masahiko Arakawa, Hitoshi Ikeda, Masateru Ishiguro, Naru Hirata, Koji Wada, Yoshiaki Ishihara, Rina Noguchi, Tomokatsu Morota, Naoya Sakatani, Koji Matsumoto, Hiroki Senshu, Rie Honda, Eri Tatsumi, Yasuhiro Yokota, Chikatoshi Honda, Tatsuhiro Michikami, Moe Matsuoka, Akira Miura, Hirotomo Noda, Tetsuya Yamada, Keisuke Yoshihara, Kosuke Kawahara, Masanobu Ozaki, Yu Ichi Iijima, Hajime Yano, Masahiko Hayakawa, Takahiro Iwata, Ryudo Tsukizaki, Hirotaka Sawada, Satoshi Hosoda, Kazunori Ogawa, Chisato Okamoto, Naoyuki Hirata, Kei Shirai, Yuri Shimaki, Manabu Yamada, Tatsuaki Okada, Yukio Yamamoto, Hiroshi Takeuchi, Atsushi Fujii, Yuto Takei, Kento Yoshikawa, Yuya Mimasu, Go Ono, Naoko Ogawa, Shota Kikuchi, Satoru Nakazawa, Fuyuto Terui, Satoshi Tanaka, Takanao Saiki, Makoto Yoshikawa, Sei Ichiro Watanabe, Yuichi Tsuda

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111 Scopus citations

Abstract

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.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbereabn9033
JournalScience
Volume379
Issue number6634
DOIs
StatePublished - 24 Feb 2023

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