Nature Communications (Aug 2024)

Variations of organic functional chemistry in carbonaceous matter from the asteroid 162173 Ryugu

  • Bradley De Gregorio,
  • George D. Cody,
  • Rhonda M. Stroud,
  • A. L. David Kilcoyne,
  • Scott Sandford,
  • Corentin Le Guillou,
  • Larry R. Nittler,
  • Jens Barosch,
  • Hikaru Yabuta,
  • Zita Martins,
  • Yoko Kebukawa,
  • Taiga Okumura,
  • Minako Hashiguchi,
  • Shohei Yamashita,
  • Yasuo Takeichi,
  • Yoshio Takahashi,
  • Daisuke Wakabayashi,
  • Cécile Engrand,
  • Laure Bejach,
  • Lydie Bonal,
  • Eric Quirico,
  • Laurent Remusat,
  • Jean Duprat,
  • Maximilien Verdier-Paoletti,
  • Smail Mostefaoui,
  • Mutsumi Komatsu,
  • Jérémie Mathurin,
  • Alexandre Dazzi,
  • Ariane Deniset-Besseau,
  • Emmanuel Dartois,
  • Yusuke Tamenori,
  • Hiroki Suga,
  • Gilles Montagnac,
  • Kanami Kamide,
  • Miho Shigenaka,
  • Megumi Matsumoto,
  • Yuma Enokido,
  • Makoto Yoshikawa,
  • Takanao Saiki,
  • Satoshi Tanaka,
  • Fuyuto Terui,
  • Satoru Nakazawa,
  • Tomohiro Usui,
  • Masanao Abe,
  • Tatsuaki Okada,
  • Toru Yada,
  • Masahiro Nishimura,
  • Aiko Nakato,
  • Akiko Miyazaki,
  • Kasumi Yogata,
  • Hisayoshi Yurimoto,
  • Tomoki Nakamura,
  • Takaaki Noguchi,
  • Ryuji Okazaki,
  • Hiroshi Naraoka,
  • Kanako Sakamoto,
  • Shogo Tachibana,
  • Sei-ichiro Watanabe,
  • Yuichi Tsuda

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51731-w
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

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Abstract Primordial carbon delivered to the early earth by asteroids and meteorites provided a diverse source of extraterrestrial organics from pre-existing simple organic compounds, complex solar-irradiated macromolecules, and macromolecules from extended hydrothermal processing. Surface regolith collected by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft from the carbon-rich asteroid 162173 Ryugu present a unique opportunity to untangle the sources and processing history of carbonaceous matter. Here we show carbonaceous grains in Ryugu can be classified into three main populations defined by spectral shape: Highly aromatic (HA), Alkyl-Aromatic (AA), and IOM-like (IL). These carbon populations may be related to primordial chemistry, since C and N isotopic compositions vary between the three groups. Diffuse carbon is occasionally dominated by molecular carbonate preferentially associated with coarse-grained phyllosilicate minerals. Compared to related carbonaceous meteorites, the greater diversity of organic functional chemistry in Ryugu indicate the pristine condition of these asteroid samples.