RNA compound and vitamin B3 found in samples from near-Earth asteroid

Organic molecules have been detected in samples collected by Japan's Hayabusa2 mission from the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu. The samples, collected from two different locations on the asteroid, found uracil, one of the building blocks of RNA, as well as vitamin B3, or niacin (a key cofactor for metabolism in living organisms). Uracil is a nucleobase, or a nitrogen-containing compound, and is one of five nucleobases in DNA and RNA, the proteins and molecules that contain genetic information and instructions crucial for the cells of living organisms. Ryugu is a carbon-rich, diamond-shaped asteroid that measures about 3,000 feet (1 kilometer) wide. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency mission collected one sample from the asteroid's surface in February 2019, then fired a copper "bullet" into the asteroid to create a 33-foot (10-meter) wide impact crater.

The sample was collected from this crater in July 2019 and dropped off in Australia in December 2020. In earlier analyses, researchers detected amino acids and other molecules in Ryugu's samples, while uracil and niacin have also been found in meteorites that landed on Earth.