Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh
Asteroid Ryugu, formed billions of years ago, was shaped by processes in the early solar system, including freeze-thaw cycles that fractured its rocks and allowed water to alter its composition.
Asteroid Ryugu's rocks, brought back to Earth by JAXA’s Hayabusa2 mission, show fractures caused by ice. These fractures reveal how water played a key role in shaping the asteroid, providing crucial insights into its early formation and evolution.
Ryugu’s rocky surface was fractured by freeze-thaw cycles, where expanding ice caused cracks, indicating that water played a role in shaping the asteroid long ago.
As Ryugu traveled through space, water within its rocks caused minerals to form, helping deliver organic matter to Earth when it impacted, potentially seeding life.
Ryugu’s formation was influenced by freeze-thaw cycles over billions of years, where water ice expanded and contracted, altering its surface and internal structure.
The freeze-thaw process cracked Ryugu’s rocky body, allowing water to move through it and interact with minerals, shaping the asteroid’s structure over time.
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As Ryugu journeyed through space, it delivered essential materials, including water and organic matter, to Earth through impacts, which may have contributed to life’s emergence.
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Ryugu’s fractures were filled with water-altered minerals, suggesting it once contained water, a crucial factor in its evolution and its potential to deliver life-supporting materials to Earth.
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Repeated cycles of freezing and thawing shaped Ryugu’s surface, creating cracks and geysers that may have released water vapor, marking its long history in space.
Representative pic/ESA
Ryugu’s formation process, as revealed by freeze-thaw cycles, left behind a fractured structure that contains evidence of water, a key component in delivering life’s building blocks to early Earth.
Representative pic