Scientists found living organisms in samples from asteroid Ryugu, but they're not pleased. Here's why their discovery raises concerns rather than excitement.

Last year, scientists announced that during their analysis of samples from the asteroid Ryugu, they found organic material essential for living organisms. This means that there could potentially be living extraterrestrial microorganisms preserved within the asteroid. However, a new study published in the journal Meteoritics & Planetary Science revealed that while life is indeed present in the asteroid samples, it is not extraterrestrial at all, according to Futurism.

There is a theory suggesting that living microorganisms can travel on asteroids through space, which might explain how they arrived on Earth. In other words, asteroid impacts on our planet could have sparked the emergence of life on Earth.

The Japanese spacecraft "Hayabusa-2" brought back samples from the asteroid Ryugu to Earth in 2020, and research on these samples has continued over the years. The discovery of organic substances in the asteroid samples indicating the presence of life has sparked a wave of discussions within the scientific community. If true, this would lend support to the aforementioned theory. However, the results of the new study on the Ryugu asteroid samples have put an end to these debates.

Researchers indeed found evidence of microbial life, but this life did not arrive on Earth with the asteroid samples from a distance of over 150 million kilometers.

The study revealed that the samples actually contain terrestrial microorganisms that somehow overcame all the control measures aimed at preventing contamination of the Ryugu asteroid samples with earthly substances and microbes.

Furthermore, scientists discovered that the microorganisms rapidly colonized the samples. According to the researchers, this study indicates that the presence of microorganisms in samples brought from space does not necessarily serve as proof of extraterrestrial life.

The Ryugu asteroid samples were brought to the laboratory for analysis in a hermetically sealed chamber. This chamber was opened in a sterile environment treated with nitrogen. All tools underwent thorough sterilization. Nevertheless, terrestrial microbes managed to breach all these protective measures and contaminated the asteroid samples.

Following this new research, scientists may need to adopt a more skeptical stance regarding claims of potential extraterrestrial life.