Soluble organic matter Molecular atlas of Ryugu reveals cold hydrothermalism on C-type asteroid parent bodyOPEN ACCESS 

Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin, Norbert Hertkorn, Mourad Harir, Franco Moritz, Marianna Lucio, Lydie Bonal, Eric Quirico, Yoshinori Takano, Jason P. Dworkin, Hiroshi Naraoka, Shogo Tachibana, Tomoki Nakamura, Takaaki Noguchi, Ryuji Okazaki, Hikaru Yabuta, Hisayoshi Yurimoto, Kanako Sakamoto, Toru Yada, Masahiro Nishimura, Aiko Nakato, Akiko Miyazaki, Kasumi Yogata, Masanao Abe, Tomohiro Usui, Makoto Yoshikawa, Takanao Saiki, Satoshi Tanaka, Fuyuto Terui, Satoru Nakazawa, Tatsuaki Okada, Sei-ichiro Watanabe, Yuichi Tsuda & Hayabusa2-initial-analysis SOM team

Nature Communications, Volume 14, Article number: 6525
Published: 16 October 2023

LINK (OPEN ACCESS)
PDF (OPEN ACCESS)

“The sample from the near-Earth carbonaceous asteroid (162173) Ryugu is analyzed in the context of carbonaceous meteorites soluble organic matter. The analysis of soluble molecules of samples collected by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft shines light on an extremely high molecular diversity on the C-type asteroid. Sequential solvent extracts of increasing polarity of Ryugu samples are analyzed using mass spectrometry with complementary ionization methods and structural information confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Here we show a continuum in the molecular size and polarity, and no organomagnesium molecules are detected, reflecting a low temperature and water-rich environment on the parent body approving earlier mineralogical and chemical data. High abundance of sulfidic and nitrogen rich compounds as well as high abundance of ammonium ions confirm the water processing. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are also detected in a structural continuum of carbon saturations and oxidations, implying multiple origins of the observed organic complexity, thus involving generic processes such as earlier carbonization and serpentinization with successive low temperature aqueous alteration.”