Images from the surface of asteroid Ryugu show rocks similar to carbonaceous chondrite meteorites

R Jaumann, N Schmitz, T-M Ho, S Schröder, K Otto, K Stephan, S Elgner, K Krohn, F Preusker, F Scholten, J Biele, S Ulamec, C Krause, S Sugita, K-D Matz, T Roatsch, R Parekh, S Mottola, M Grott, P Michel, F Trauthan, A Koncz, H Michaelis, C Lange, J Grundmann, M Maibaum, K Sasaki, F Wolff, J Reill, A Moussi-Soffys, L Lorda, W Neumann, J-B Vincent, R Wagner, J-P Bibring, S Kameda, H Yano, S Watanabe, M Yoshikawa, Y Tsuda, T Okada, T Yoshimitsu, Y Mimasu, T Saiki, H Yabuta, H Rauer, R Honda, T Morota, Y Yokota, T Kouyama (2019) Images from the surface of asteroid Ryugu show rocks similar to carbonaceous chondrite meteorites Science (IF: 45.8) 365(6455) 817-820

Abstract

The near-Earth asteroid (162173) Ryugu is a 900-m-diameter dark object expected to contain primordial material from the solar nebula. The Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (MASCOT) landed on Ryugu's surface on 3 October 2018. We present images from the MASCOT camera (MASCam) taken during the descent and while on the surface. The surface is covered by decimeter- to meter-sized rocks, with no deposits of fine-grained material. Rocks appear either bright, with smooth faces and sharp edges, or dark, with a cauliflower-like, crumbly surface. Close-up images of a rock of the latter type reveal a dark matrix with small, bright, spectrally different inclusions, implying that it did not experience extensive aqueous alteration. The inclusions appear similar to those in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites.Copyright © 2019 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Links

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31439797
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aaw8627

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