More than 20 types of amino acids have been detected in samples Japan's Hayabusa2 space probe brought to Earth from an asteroid in late 2020, a government official said Monday, showing for the first time the organic compounds exist on asteroids in space. With amino acids essential for all living things to make proteins, the discovery could hold clues to understanding the origins of life, the education ministry said.
Kensei Kobayashi, professor emeritus of astrobiology at Yokohama National University, said the unprecedented discovery of multiple types of amino acids on an extraterrestrial body could even hint at the existence of life outside of Earth. "Proving amino acids exist in the subsurface of asteroids increases the likelihood that the compounds arrived on Earth from space," he said.
It also means amino acids can likely be found on other planets and natural satellites, hinting that "life could have been born in more places in the universe than previously thought," Kobayashi added.
Hayabusa2 was groundbreaking in that it collected subsurface materials not weathered by sunlight or cosmic rays. The latest analysis of the samples was conducted without exposing them to Earth's air, meaning researchers confirmed for the first time the building blocks of life also exist in outer space.
The latest discovery will likely reinforce the theory that the amino acids that exist on Earth today were brought by meteorites that rained down on the planet after it cooled.
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