HIGHLIGHTS

Scientists have argued whether Earth's water arrived from space for a long time.

Materials from the asteroid 25143 Itokawa were investigated.

On the asteroid, scientists discovered a considerable amount of water. 

WHY IN NEWS

The blue blanket of water bodies on Earth makes it appear stunning when viewed from space. Innumerable images and movies have been taken by astronomers to highlight the amazing splendour of our planet. But, has this world always been as it is now? How did water cover 70 percent of the Earth's surface? Scientists have debated the possibility for a long time. A group of British scientists has recently endorsed a long-held hypothesis that alien water is the source of water on Earth's surface. The experts agreed that Earth's water is the consequence of comets and ice asteroids colliding with the planet. The findings are based on an examination of materials recovered from the asteroid 25143 Itokawa. This asteroid was found in 1998, and samples from it were the first to be transported to Earth for study in 2005. 

The Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa made two landings on the asteroid to collect dust. In 2010, it returned the sample to Earth. Scientists discovered a considerable amount of water on the asteroid, according to a research published in the magazine Nature, boosting the potential of water in the form of ice on other worlds. This led them to believe that the water on the Earth's surface was caused by solar winds. According to the researchers, dust particles in solar winds must have collided with oxygen atoms in clouds, causing water to fall on Earth. In a statement, Luke Daly, a member of the research team, said that while their findings provide fascinating insights into Earth's past, they could also aid future space missions by assisting in the development of methods to provide enough water for astronauts without requiring them to carry supplies. 'Our research reveals that the same space weathering mechanism that formed water on Itokawa likely occurred on other airless planets,' Daly said. 'This means astronauts might process new sources of water straight from the dust on a planet's surface, such as the Moon.'

The egg-shaped asteroid Nereus is thought to have iron, cobalt, and nickel resources, according to scientists.

Space mining is a concept that first gained traction at the turn of the century, and it was hotly debated just ten years ago. Many people believe that using robots and private astronauts to search and mine near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) for valuable metals and even rare earth metals might revolutionise the commercial space economy. However, there has been little discernible development since then. This weekend, as an NEA named 4660 Nereus flew by the Earth, this hypothesis resurfaced in public conversation. Scientists think the asteroid, which has a diameter of 330 metres and a diameter of 330 metres, contains valuable metals worth $5 billion (roughly Rs. 3.78 lakh crore).At no point did Nereus get dangerously near to Earth. It was 3.9 million kilometres distant during its closest approach, or ten times the distance between the Earth and the Moon. According to scientists, it will pass by Earth again in 39 years, at which point 'space miners' might be launched to examine how we can utilise the valuable metal resources on this asteroid. Nereus is made up of $4.71 billion (approximately Rs. 3.56 lakh crores) worth of iron, cobalt, and nickel, according to a research by Asterank, which has a scientific and economic database on over 6 lakh asteroids. However, following the current flyby, additional study will shed light on its properties.

In February 2060, according to Franck Marchis, chief science officer of Unistellar, a company that builds digital telescopes, Nereus will be just 1.2 million kilometres from Earth, allowing 'space miners' to attempt to settle on it. 'As a frequent visitor to our planet, Nereus has the potential to play a big role in the future of space travel by delivering critical resources,' Marchis added. Another point worth mentioning is the impact of Nereus' recurring flybys on Earth's security. 'Potentially dangerous' has been assigned to the asteroid. Even if the asteroid passes Earth in 2060, the distance between the Earth and the Moon will be five times that. 'Possibly dangerous' objects are those that approach Earth and are huge enough to do significant harm. This indicates the potential risk that objects like Nereus may pose in the future, as they will pass through Earth's orbit at some time.