Where does water come from on planet Earth? This is a question that has worried the scientific community for years. Part of the answer may come to us from Japan, where researchers have analyzed samples of material brought from the asteroid Ryugu by a space mission.
Early comments indicate that The water will be of extraterrestrial origin. “This mission is an extraordinary adventure,” he says RTL Patrick Michel, astrophysicist and director of research at CNRS. “I was able to bring in samples from a potentially water-rich carbonaceous asteroid, and early analyzes showed that it contained organic matter including amino acids and water, whose properties are similar to those of the terrestrial oceanswhich seems to confirm the hypothesis of water supply from outside”, explains the specialist.
Another possibility that could explain the arrival of water to the land? “That the material that made the Earth actually contained the water that made it possible for the oceans to form. We have found in some meteorites whose properties are similar to terrestrial materials,” continues Patrick Michel. It can also be a ‘mix of the two’ He remembers the assumptions, “Nothing is binary.”
The astrophysicist also pointed out the importance of water on our planet. “For us, water is an indicator that allows us to say that conditions are favorable for the emergence of life, and then The importance of preserving our water on Earth, we depend on it greatly. We’ve been given the right ingredients to have a great land and now it’s up to us to make sure it lasts, so we can live there for a long time,” concludes Patrick Michel.