• Visitors can admire the samples until June 21

Arab News Japan

TOKYO: A sample collected by the Hayabusa2 probe from the asteroid Ryugu that could give clues to the origin of life on planet Earth has been replicated 191 times and exhibited in various locations in Japan.

At the Kokubunji Peace Plaza near Kokubunji Station in Tokyo, visitors can admire two replicas of the sample of the asteroid Ryugu until June 21, one in original size and the other enlarged 10 times.

In this sample, which was collected on July 11, 2019, by Hayabusa2 after landing on the asteroid, the Japanese scientists who examined it found the presence of amino acids, hinting at the theory that life on Earth originated in outer space.

Kyodo News reported that Professor Kobayashi from the University of Yokohama commented: “Proving that amino acids exist in the subsoil of asteroids increases the likelihood that the compounds arrived on Earth from space”.

Another scientist, Hiroshi Naraoka, said hydrocarbons similar to terrestrial oil have also been discovered.

Amino acids are an essential component necessary for the presence of life on Earth. The fact that amino acids have been discovered in the subsoil of this asteroid, which dates back to the beginning of our solar system, could suggest that the presence of life may also be possible on other planets.