Scientists Find ‘Rich Complement’ of Organic Molecules in Ryugu Asteroid Sample

Asteroid Ryugu was photographed by the ONC-T telescopic camera on the Hayabusa 2 probe after a journey of around 3.2 billion kilometers since launch, in outer space 280 million kilometers from the Earth, on June 24, 2018, in this handout photo released by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). JAXA-Tokyo University/Handout via Reuters

Scientists have analyzed Ryugu asteroid samples brought back by Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft and found “a rich complement of organic molecules” that are known to be the building blocks of terrestrial life.

The Ryugu asteroid is approximately 348 million kilometers (about 216 million miles) from earth.