The parent world of asteroid Ryugu, the space rock visited by the Japanese mission Hayabusa2, had flowing water for over a billion years. This was not at all expected when the spacecraft collected and brought back the sample, and it adds to the record of evidence that suggests a much more peculiar early Solar System. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

Ryugu measures approximately 900 meters (3,000 feet) in diameter, and it looks like a spinning top. It’s a rubble pile, made of mostly small rocks and the occasional larger boulder. The Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) sent a probe to collect surface and subsurface samples of the asteroid, and it has revealed the presence of organic material and much more.

The latest discover

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