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Ryugu Asteroid Sample Rapidly Colonized By Terrestrial Life (phys.org)

(Thursday November 28, 2024 @05:00AM (BeauHD) from the that-didn't-take-long dept.)


Longtime Slashdot reader [1]AmiMoJo shares a report from Phys.org:

> Researchers from Imperial College London have discovered that a space-returned sample from asteroid Ryugu was [2]rapidly colonized by terrestrial microorganisms , even under stringent contamination control measures. In the [3]study , [...] researchers analyzed sample A0180, a tiny (1 x 0.8 mm) particle collected by the JAXA Hayabusa 2 mission from asteroid Ryugu.

>

> Transported to Earth in a hermetically sealed chamber, the sample was opened in nitrogen in a class 10,000 clean room to prevent contamination. Individual particles were picked with sterilized tools and stored under nitrogen in airtight containers. Before analysis, the sample underwent Nano-X-ray computed tomography and was embedded in an epoxy resin block for scanning electron microscopy. Rods and filaments of organic matter, interpreted as filamentous microorganisms, were observed on the sample's surface. Variations in size and morphology of these structures resembled known terrestrial microbes. Observations showed that the abundance of these filaments changed over time, suggesting the growth and decline of a prokaryote population with a generation time of 5.2 days.

>

> Population statistics indicate that the microorganisms originated from terrestrial contamination during the sample preparation stage rather than being indigenous to the asteroid. Results of the study determined that terrestrial biota had rapidly colonized the extraterrestrial material, even under strict contamination control. Researchers recommend enhanced contamination control procedures for future sample-return missions to prevent microbial colonization and ensure the integrity of extraterrestrial samples. Another factor in gathering contamination-free sampling is that everything used to collect extraterrestrial material originates on a planet awash in microbial life.



[1] https://slashdot.org/~AmiMoJo

[2] https://phys.org/news/2024-11-ryugu-asteroid-sample-rapidly-colonized.html

[3] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/maps.14288



If microbes made it to the sample does that mean.. (Score:1)

by Bart 5020663 ( 10135293 )

microbes previously on the sample (if any) could have escaped from the lab to cause 'the final covid'?

DOS: n., A small annoying boot virus that causes random spontaneous system
crashes, usually just before saving a massive project. Easily cured by
UNIX. See also MS-DOS, IBM-DOS, DR-DOS.
-- David Vicker's .plan