Ryugu

asteroid · space exploration · ancient rocks

A dark mountain in space. Ryugu is an asteroid about 900 meters (3,000 feet) across, making it roughly the size of a small mountain floating in space between Earth and the Sun.

Japan's space adventure. In 2018, Japan sent a robotic spacecraft called Hayabusa2 to visit Ryugu, collect samples, and bring them back to Earth in 2020.

Life's building blocks. Scientists discovered that the samples from Ryugu contained organic compounds, including uracil (a key ingredient in RNA, which helps build all living things) and vitamin B3.

Ancient rock collection. Ryugu's rocks are billions of years old and have barely changed since the earliest days of our solar system, making them like time capsules from space.