The Solar System calcium isotopic composition inferred from Ryugu samples

CO CV CM CI Ryugu A Ryugu C 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 44/40CaSRM915a (age corrected) The Hayabusa2 spacecraft has returned samples from the Cb-type asteroid (162173) Ryugu to Earth. Previous petrological and chemical analyses support a close link between Ryugu and CI chondrites that are presumed to be chemically the most primitive meteorites with a solar-like composition. However, Ryugu samples are highly enriched in Ca compared to typical CI chondrites. To identify the cause of this discrepancy, here we report stable Ca isotopic data (expressed as delta 44/40CaSRM915a) for returned Ryugu samples collected from two sites. We found that samples from both sites have similar delta 44/40CaSRM915a (0.58 +/- 0.03 parts per thousand and 0.55 +/- 0.08 parts per thousand, 2 s.d.) that fall within the range defined by CIs. This isotopic similarity suggests that the Ca budget of CIs and Ryugu samples is dominated by carbonates, and the variably higher Ca contents in Ryugu samples are due to the abundant carbonates. Precipitation of carbonates on Ryugu likely coincided with a major episode of aqueous activity dated to have occurred similar to 5 Myr after Solar System formation. Based on the pristine Ryugu samples, the average delta 44/40CaSRM915a of the Solar System is defined to be 0.57 +/- 0.04 parts per thousand (2 s.d.).

Automated summary

In this study, stable calcium isotopic analysis was conducted on the returned samples from Ryugu, revealing a higher calcium content compared to CI chondrites. The isotopic similarity suggests that the elevated calcium in Ryugu samples is attributed to the presence of carbonates, which likely precipitated during a major episode of aqueous activity occurring approximately 5 million years after Solar System formation.