A tiny grain from asteroid Ryugu has revealed djerfisherite, a mineral that normally forms in scorching, oxygen-poor settings—conditions Ryugu was never thought to experience.
The surprise find hints that the asteroid either endured unexpected heat spikes or captured exotic material transported across the early Solar System. Microscopy and chemical clues now challenge the idea that Ryugu is compositionally uniform and point to a far more chaotic mixing of planetary building blocks. Scientists are turning to isotopic “fingerprints” to trace the grain’s true origin and decode how primitive asteroids really formed.
Hayabusa2 brings ryugu samples & surprising mineral clues.