According to a study, the materials that created the Earth may have been developed quite far out in the early solar system and then brought in during the solar system's stormy early history.
Carbonaceous meteorites, assumed to come from outer main-belt asteroids, are theorised to have contributed to Earth's formation.
Researchers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology led the latest study, which was published in the journal AGU Advances.
According to the study, asteroidal materials developed far out in the early solar system and were subsequently carried into the inner solar system by chaotic mixing processes.
The findings show that the surface minerals seen on outer main-belt asteroids, particularly ammonia (NH3)-bearing clays, are formed from beginning materials including NH3 and CO2 ice that are only stable at very low temperatures and in water-rich environments.