Ryugu
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Sample Return, Status Report

Bundle Adjustment Of Hayabusa2’s ONC Images And Controlled Color Mosaic Map Of Ryugu

by Keith Cowing

JAXA’s Hayabusa2 mission successfully returned samples from the asteroid Ryugu in December 2020. It executed two touchdowns to collect the surface and subsurface materials, one close to the crater created […]

Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Sample Return, Status Report

Bennu And Ryugu Cconstituents From Samples IR Analyses And Potential Source Of Terrestrial Planets’ Ingredients

by Keith Cowing

Samples collected on carbonaceous asteroids and preserved from terrestrial alteration are key witnesses of the early evolution of the Solar System. Here we present the results of the characterization, by […]

Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Status Report

Potential Metabolic Viability On Asteroid Chemistry

by Keith Cowing

While it has been long supposed that asteroids played a role in the delivery of important prebiotic compounds to early Earth, the exact nature of the interactions between asteroidal material […]

Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Sample Return, Status Report

The Variety And Origin Of Materials Accreted By Bennu’s Parent Asteroid

by Keith Cowing

The first bodies to form in the Solar System acquired their materials from stars, the presolar molecular cloud and the protoplanetary disk.

Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Sample Return

Asteroid Bennu Is A Time Capsule Of Materials Bearing Witness To Its Origin And Transformation Over Billions Of Years

by Keith Cowing

Asteroid Bennu — the target of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx sample return mission, led by the University of Arizona — is a mixture of materials from throughout, and even beyond, our solar […]

Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Sample Return

Astrogeology: Asteroids Bennu And Ryugu Are Part Of The Polana Family

by Keith Cowing

A Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) review of data collected from near-Earth asteroids Bennu and Ryugu supports the hypothesis that they were originally part of the Polana collisional family in the […]

Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

Formation of Lactic Acid (CH3CH(OH)COOH), a Metabolic Keystone for the Molecular Origins of Life, in Interstellar Ice Analogues

by Keith Cowing

Lactic acid (CH3CH(OH)COOH)–a key biorelevant hydroxycarboxylic acid–is ubiquitous in living organisms and critically linked to the molecular origins of life due to its fundamental role in metabolic pathways.

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