The Ryugu asteroid could be a wreck caused by the collision of two rocks in the space

A new study suggests that a robot that studies the asteroid can reach the origins of some of the oldest meteorites.

In 2018, the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2 reached the Ryugu asteroid, one of the most beautiful celestial bodies in the solar system, named Dragon Palace, and resulted in a magical underwater castle in a Japanese novel.

Scientists may want to know more about Ryugu because its orbit brings it closer to Earth.

"Knowledge of the composition and geological structure of asteroids and comets is critical to the development of mitigation strategies in the event of collision scenarios," said Ralph Gauman, author of the report. study and planetary scientist at the Planetary Research Institute.

Previous research has suggested that Ryugu may contain raw materials from the nebula that produced the sun and its planets, and Hayabusa2 is designed to return samples of the asteroid to illuminate the composition of the solar system .

Hayabusa2 placed a portable landing gear in the surface asteroid (MASCOT), where the robot took pictures of the main Hayabusa2 probe on Ryugu. After landing on the surface of the asteroid, it worked for more than 17 hours before the batteries ran out.

MASCOT discovered that the asteroid was covered with two types of rocks, one dark and friable and the other shiny with smooth faces and sharp edges.

Juman said the two types are spread almost evenly over the surface of the asteroid, suggesting that Ryugu was a heap of debris that merged after the collision of the two bodies, indicating a violent history of collision of asteroids .

Close-ups of Ryogualdakas and rough stones revealed that they often contained small colored impurities similar to those found in one of the most primitive and rare meteorites.