Utilizing an electron microscope, they discovered that the surface of the Ryugu samples are covered with tiny minerals composed of iron and nitrogen (iron nitride: Fe4N).” The iron nitride was observed on the surface of magnetite, which consists of iron and oxygen atoms. These procedures form metal iron on the really surface area of the magnetite, which readily responds with ammonia, developing ideal conditions for synthesis of iron nitride.Reference: “Influx of nitrogen-rich product from the external Solar System indicated by iron nitride in Ryugu samples” by Toru Matsumoto, Takaaki Noguchi, Akira Miyake, Yohei Igami, Mitsutaka Haruta, Yusuke Seto, Masaaki Miyahara, Naotaka Tomioka, Hikaru Saito, Satoshi Hata, Dennis Harries, Aki Takigawa, Yusuke Nakauchi, Shogo Tachibana, Tomoki Nakamura, Megumi Matsumoto, Hope A. Ishii, John P. Bradley, Kenta Ohtaki, Elena Dobrica, Hugues Leroux, Corentin Le Guillou, Damien Jacob, Francisco de la Peña, Sylvain Laforet, Maya Marinova, Falko Langenhorst, Pierre Beck, Thi H. V. Phan, Rolando Rebois, Neyda M. Abreu, Jennifer Gray, Thomas Zega, Pierre-M.
Utilizing an electron microscope, they found that the surface of the Ryugu samples are covered with small minerals composed of iron and nitrogen (iron nitride: Fe4N).” The iron nitride was observed on the surface of magnetite, which consists of iron and oxygen atoms. These processes form metal iron on the really surface area of the magnetite, which easily responds with ammonia, creating ideal conditions for synthesis of iron nitride.Reference: “Influx of nitrogen-rich product from the outer Solar System showed by iron nitride in Ryugu samples” by Toru Matsumoto, Takaaki Noguchi, Akira Miyake, Yohei Igami, Mitsutaka Haruta, Yusuke Seto, Masaaki Miyahara, Naotaka Tomioka, Hikaru Saito, Satoshi Hata, Dennis Harries, Aki Takigawa, Yusuke Nakauchi, Shogo Tachibana, Tomoki Nakamura, Megumi Matsumoto, Hope A. Ishii, John P. Bradley, Kenta Ohtaki, Elena Dobrica, Hugues Leroux, Corentin Le Guillou, Damien Jacob, Francisco de la Peña, Sylvain Laforet, Maya Marinova, Falko Langenhorst, Pierre Beck, Thi H. V. Phan, Rolando Rebois, Neyda M. Abreu, Jennifer Gray, Thomas Zega, Pierre-M.