Hayabusa2 returned samples: A unique and pristine record of outer Solar System materials from asteroid Ryugu

Abstract

C-type asteroids likely formed in the outer Solar System and were then scattered inwards during giant planet migration (Walsh et al., 2011). They may have transported volatiles to the inner Solar System and created the conditions suitable for life on Earth(Alexander, 2017). Carbonaceous chondrites are fragments from C-type asteroids and provide evidence that these generally organic-rich (Garvie and Buseck, 2007) bodies experienced extensive aqueous alteration early in Solar System history (Alexander et al., 2014). On 6th December 2020, ~5.4g of material was delivered to Earth from the C-type asteroid 162173 Ryugu by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft (Yada et al., 2021). Here we present the results of an integrated bulk and micro-analytical study of Ryugu particles, which provides a unique insight into the interrelationship between aliphatic-rich organics and surrounding hydrous minerals at a sub-micrometer scale. This dataset has clear implications for better understanding the origin and early evolution of Solar System organic matter and demonstrates that Ryugu particles are among the most uncontaminated extraterrestrial materials so far studied.