Japanese asteroid samples reveal secrets of early solar system
Tiny rock samples from Japan's Hayabusa2 mission just revealed that liquid water stuck around on the parent body of asteroid Ryugu for more than a billion years—way longer than scientists thought.
This changes what we know about how water moved around in the early solar system, and even hints at where Earth's oceans might have come from.
Water trickled through cracks
Researchers in Tokyo found chemical clues in Ryugu fragments showing that an impact probably melted buried ice, sending water trickling through cracks and changing the minerals inside.
This watery activity lasted much longer than anyone expected, possibly breaking up the original body and leading to Ryugu's creation.
How did Earth get its oceans?
Turns out, carbon-rich asteroids like Ryugu may have delivered way more water to early Earth than we realized.
These new findings push back the timeline for when water was present in space rocks—and will help scientists compare with NASA's Bennu samples soon.
It's a big step toward understanding how our planet (and its oceans) really got started.