Water found in samples from asteroid Ryugu

Tokyo, Sept. 23 (Jiji Press)–Water has been found in samples from the asteroid Ryugu brought to Earth by Japanese explorer Hayabusa2, according to a study published in the American journal Science.

This is the first-ever discovery of water that takes on a liquid form at room temperature from any sample taken outside Earth, according to a study by a team of researchers mostly from the University. of Tohoku and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

The result should lead to a better understanding of the origin of the ocean on Earth.

Tomoki Nakamura, a professor at Tohoku University, and his teammates analyzed 17 grains of sand from Ryugu using systems including the large synchrotron radiation facility SPring-8 in Sayo, Hyogo Prefecture, U.S. western Japan.

The team examined the sand grains, from 1 to 8 millimetres, in detail, looking at their internal structures, mineral composition, hardness and other properties.

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