An international team of scientists conducted a study and stated that one specific particle on the Ryugu asteroid would shed light on the raw materials of his parent body, which had not changed in time.
The solar system was formed from a large cloud of rotating gas and dust created by previous generations of stars; this "star dust" is particles the size of nanometra to micrometer, which became part of planetary bodies such as Ryugu when they were formed.
In a new study, scientists used a secondary ion mass spectrometer LLNL, and found that one particle of waterless silicates.
The previously detected particles contained more philosolycate and carbonate minerals, and based on these data scientists assumed that Ryugu's "parent" had changed as rare but chemically primitive CI .
An analysis of magnesium-rich olives and pyroxen showed that the ameboid clusters of olives and magnesium-rich hondras, two types of high-temperature objects that formed in the solar nebula, joined together with the parent body of Ryugu.
In December 2014, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launched the Hayabusa-2 spacecraft into the asteroid 162173 Ryuga. In December 2020, the sample capsule landed safely back to Earth with its collected undisturbed pieces of Ryugu.
Ryugu is an ancient fragment of a larger asteroid formed very early in the history of the solar system, shortly after the birth of the Sun, which provides scientists with a unique opportunity not only to understand its composition but also the material from which the solar system was formed and how it evolved.