Carbonate record of temporal change in oxygen fugacity and gaseous species in asteroid Ryugu

The Hayabusa2 spacecraft explored asteroid Ryugu and brought its surface materials to Earth. Ryugu samples resemble Ivuna-type (CI) chondrites-the most chemically primitive meteorites-and contain secondary phyllosilicates and carbonates, which are indicative of aqueous alteration. Understanding the conditions (such as temperature, redox state and fluid composition) during aqueous alteration is crucial to elucidating how Ryugu evolved to its present state, but little is known about the temporal changes in these conditions. Here we show that calcium carbonate (calcite) grains in Ryugu and Ivuna samples have variable O-18/O-16 and C-13/C-12 ratios that are, respectively, 24-46 & PTSTHOUSND; and 65-108 & PTSTHOUSND; greater than terrestrial standard values, whereas those of calcium-magnesium carbonate (dolomite) grains are much more homogeneous, ranging within 31-36 & PTSTHOUSND; for oxygen and 67-75 & PTSTHOUSND; for carbon. We infer that the calcite precipitated first over a wide range of temperatures and oxygen partial pressures, and that the proportion of gaseous CO2/CO/CH4 molecules changed temporally. By contrast, the dolomite formed later in a more oxygen-rich and thus CO2-dominated environment when the system was approaching equilibrium. The characteristic isotopic compositions of secondary carbonates in Ryugu and Ivuna are not observed for other hydrous meteorites, suggesting a unique evolutionary pathway for their parent asteroid(s). The asteroid Ryugu experienced aqueous alteration under changing temperature and redox conditions, according to an isotopic analysis of secondary calcite and dolomite grains in samples from Ryugu obtained by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft

Contribution of Ryugu-like material to Earth’s volatile inventory by Cu and Zn isotopic analysis

Initial analyses showed that asteroid Ryugu's composition is close to CI (Ivuna-like) carbonaceous chondrites (CCs) - the chemically most primitive meteorites, characterized by near-solar abundances for most elements. However, some isotopic signatures (for example, Ti, Cr) overlap with other CC groups, so the details of the link between Ryugu and the CI chondrites are not yet fully clear. Here we show that Ryugu and CI chondrites have the same zinc and copper isotopic composition. As the various chondrite groups have very distinct Zn and Cu isotopic signatures, our results point at a common genetic heritage between Ryugu and CI chondrites, ruling out any affinity with other CC groups. Since Ryugu's pristine samples match the solar elemental composition for many elements, their Zn and Cu isotopic compositions likely represent the best estimates of the solar composition. Earth's mass-independent Zn isotopic composition is intermediate between Ryugu/CC and non-carbonaceous chondrites (NCs), suggesting a contribution of Ryugu-like material to Earth's budgets of Zn and other moderately volatile elements

Ryugu's nucleosynthetic heritage from the outskirts of the Solar System

International audienceLittle is known about the origin of the spectral diversity of asteroids and what it says about conditions in the proto planetary disk. Here we show that samples returned from Cbtype asteroid Ryugu have Fe isotopic anomalies indistinguishable from Ivunatype (CI) chondrites, which are distinct from all other carbonaceous chondrites. Iron isotopes, therefore, demonstrate that Ryugu and CI chondrites formed in a reservoir that was different from the source regions of other carbonaceous asteroids. Growth and migration of the giant planets destabilized nearby planetesimals and ejected some inwards to be implanted into the Main Belt. In this framework, most carbonaceous chondrites may have originated from regions around the birthplaces of Jupiter and Saturn, while the distinct isotopic composition of CI chondrites and Ryugu may reflect their formation further away in the disk, owing their presence in the inner Solar System to excitation by Uranus and Neptune

The Magnesium Isotope Composition of Samples Returned from Asteroid Ryugu

International audienceThe nucleosynthetic isotope composition of planetary materials provides a record of the heterogeneous distribution of stardust within the early solar system. In 2020 December, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Hayabusa2 spacecraft returned to Earth the first samples of a primitive asteroid, namely, the Cb-type asteroid Ryugu. This provides a unique opportunity to explore the kinship between primitive asteroids and carbonaceous chondrites. We report high-precision μ 26Mg* and μ 25Mg values of Ryugu samples together with those of CI, CM, CV, and ungrouped carbonaceous chondrites. The stable Mg isotope composition of Ryugu aliquots defines μ 25Mg values ranging from -160 ± 20 ppm to -272 ± 30 ppm, which extends to lighter compositions relative to Ivuna-type (CI) and other carbonaceous chondrite groups. We interpret the μ 25Mg variability as reflecting heterogeneous sampling of a carbonate phase hosting isotopically light Mg (μ 25Mg ~ -1400 ppm) formed by low temperature equilibrium processes. After correcting for this effect, Ryugu samples return homogeneous μ 26Mg* values corresponding to a weighted mean of 7.1 ± 0.8 ppm. Thus, Ryugu defines a μ 26Mg* excess relative to the CI and CR chondrite reservoirs corresponding to 3.8 ± 1.1 and 11.9 ± 0.8 ppm, respectively. These variations cannot be accounted for by in situ decay of 26Al given their respective 27Al/24Mg ratios. Instead, it requires that Ryugu and the CI and CR parent bodies formed from material with a different initial 26Al/27Al ratio or that they are sourced from material with distinct Mg isotope compositions. Thus, our new Mg isotope data challenge the notion that Ryugu and CI chondrites share a common nucleosynthetic heritage

Oxygen isotopes of anhydrous primary minerals show kinship between asteroid Ryugu and comet 81P/Wild2

The extraterrestrial materials returned from asteroid (162173) Ryugu consist predominantly of low-temperature aqueously formed secondary minerals and are chemically and mineralogically similar to CI (Ivuna-type) carbonaceous chondrites. Here, we show that high-temperature anhydrous primary minerals in Ryugu and CI chondrites exhibit a bimodal distribution of oxygen isotopic compositions: 16 O-rich (associated with refractory inclusions) and 16 O-poor (associated with chondrules). Both the 16 O-rich and 16 O-poor minerals probably formed in the inner solar protoplanetary disk and were subsequently transported outward. The abundance ratios of the 16 O-rich to 16 O-poor minerals in Ryugu and CI chondrites are higher than in other carbonaceous chondrite groups but are similar to that of comet 81P/Wild2, suggesting that Ryugu and CI chondrites accreted in the outer Solar System closer to the accretion region of comets

Water circulation in Ryugu asteroid affected the distribution of nucleosynthetic isotope anomalies in returned sample.

Studies of material returned from Cb asteroid Ryugu have revealed considerable mineralogical and chemical heterogeneity, stemming primarily from brecciation and aqueous alteration. Isotopic anomalies could have also been affected by delivery of exogenous clasts and aqueous mobilization of soluble elements. Here, we show that isotopic anomalies for mildly soluble Cr are highly variable in Ryugu and CI chondrites, whereas those of Ti are relatively uniform. This variation in Cr isotope ratios is most likely due to physicochemical fractionation between 54Cr-rich presolar nanoparticles and Cr-bearing secondary minerals at the millimeter-scale in the bulk samples, likely due to extensive aqueous alteration in their parent bodies that occurred [Formula: see text] after Solar System birth. In contrast, Ti isotopes were marginally affected by this process. Our results show that isotopic heterogeneities in asteroids are not all nebular or accretionary in nature but can also reflect element redistribution by water

Hydrogen Isotopic Composition of Hydrous Minerals in Asteroid Ryugu

Rock fragments of the Cb-type asteroid Ryugu returned to Earth by the JAXA Hayabusa2 mission share mineralogical, chemical, and isotopic properties with the Ivuna-type (CI) carbonaceous chondrites. Similar to CI chondrites, these fragments underwent extensive aqueous alteration and consist predominantly of hydrous minerals likely formed in the presence of liquid water on the Ryugu parent asteroid. Here we present an in situ analytical survey performed by secondary ion mass spectrometry from which we have estimated the D/H ratio of Ryugu’s hydrous minerals, D/H _Ryugu , to be [165 ± 19] × 10 ^−6 , which corresponds to δ D _Ryugu = +59 ± 121‰ (2 σ ). The hydrous mineral D/H _Ryugu ’s values for the two sampling sites on Ryugu are similar; they are also similar to the estimated D/H ratio of hydrous minerals in the CI chondrites Orgueil and Alais. This result reinforces a link between Ryugu and CI chondrites and an inference that Ryugu’s samples, which avoided terrestrial contamination, are our best proxy to estimate the composition of water at the origin of hydrous minerals in CI-like material. Based on this data and recent literature studies, the contribution of CI chondrites to the hydrogen of Earth’s surficial reservoirs is evaluated to be ∼3%. We conclude that the water responsible for the alteration of Ryugu’s rocks was derived from water ice precursors inherited from the interstellar medium; the ice partially re-equilibrated its hydrogen with the nebular H _2 before being accreted on the Ryugu’s parent asteroid

Abundant presolar grains and primordial organics preserved in carbon-rich exogenous clasts in asteroid Ryugu.

Preliminary analyses of asteroid Ryugu samples show kinship to aqueously altered CI (Ivuna-type) chondrites, suggesting similar origins. We report identification of C-rich, particularly primitive clasts in Ryugu samples that contain preserved presolar silicate grains and exceptional abundances of presolar SiC and isotopically anomalous organic matter. The high presolar silicate abundance (104 ppm) indicates that the clast escaped extensive alteration. The 5 to 10 times higher abundances of presolar SiC (~235 ppm), N-rich organic matter, organics with N isotopic anomalies (1.2%), and organics with C isotopic anomalies (0.2%) in the primitive clasts compared to bulk Ryugu suggest that the clasts formed in a unique part of the protoplanetary disk enriched in presolar materials. These clasts likely represent previously unsampled outer solar system material that accreted onto Ryugu after aqueous alteration ceased, consistent with Ryugus rubble pile origin