Ryugu is a near-Earth object and a potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group. It measures approximately 900 metres (3,000 ft) in diameter and is a dark object of the rare spectral type Cb, with qualities of both a C-type asteroid and a B-type asteroid.

In June 2018, the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2 arrived at the asteroid. After making measurements and taking samples, Hayabusa2 left Ryugu for Earth in November 2019 and returned the sample capsule to Earth on 5 December 2020.

The samples showed the presence of organic compounds, such as uracil (one of the four components in RNA) and vitamin B3.

  • raspberriesareyummy@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    But that photo of Ryugu? Not so much as a phage or virus, let alone a living thing.

    I wouldn’t be so sure about that. There’s organisms that can survive in space for a very long time, and the probe & lander probably brought some there. Desinfecting space crafts never kills 100% of the microbial life. Also, Ryugu is an asteroid, not a comet - typically formed by collisions of larger bodies. And where there is rock, there was once heat - and if there was water, too, microbes MAY have formed. It’s unlikely that any organism hibernates for millions of years, but not impossible: https://nerdist.com/article/830-million-year-old-microorganisms-could-still-be-alive/

    And that’s most of the universe.

    On this, you are very likely wrong. Unless you count stars & empty space. Chances are that most planets with geological activity have the potential for primitive life forms, and hopefully, the jupiter icy moons explorer and followup missions will give us an idea about extraterrestrial life even within our own solar system.