Asteroid: Japanese researchers for the first time discovered 20 amino acids in an asteroid
As many while 40 scientific submissions from study teams across the world have been accepted, as everyone waits for a piece of asteroid that has the components for life. Nine nations submitted requests, wanting 74 sample grains, or 230 mg of the total asteroid samples gathered.
In December 2020, the Hayabusa2 spacecraft returned to Earth with a sample capsule containing material gathered from the C-type asteroid Ryugu. The materials were subsequently analysed by Japanese experts, who discovered 20 amino acids.
Amino acids are the building blocks of life since they combine to produce proteins. These molecules are necessary for living creatures because they aid in digestion, development, tissue repair, and a variety of other biological activities. The body can also utilise them as a source of energy.
These amino acids have previously been found in asteroids that have collided with the Earth. They were only just measured because they were lost in the Earth’s atmosphere, which burns and generates plasma. The presence of organic material in these leftovers from the birth of the solar system has been confirmed by the detection of 20 of these critical elements.
Following the finding, research teams were asked to submit a scientific proposal by April 22, 2022, seeking grains from the sample for an upcoming investigation. On June 13, 2022, the Hayabusa2 Sample Allocation Committee approved 40 of the proposals after the Ryugu Sample Research Open Call Committee reviewed responses from 12 nations.
