| Title | Philae Lander Finds Complex Organic Molecules Like Acetone on Comet | |
| Date | Saturday August 01 2015, @05:32AM | |
| Author | janrinok | |
| Topic | ||
| from the nothing-ruled-in,-nothing-ruled-out dept. | ||
Scientists say the Philae space probe has gathered data supporting the theory that comets can serve as cosmic laboratories in which some of the essential elements for life are assembled.
Philae, which is part of the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission, used two separate instruments to 'sniff' for molecules during its bumpy landing on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko last November.
"Comets are loaded with all the raw materials like water, CO2, methane, ammonia, needed to assemble more complex organic molecules, perhaps sparked by UV-photons from the Sun or cosmic rays, or in the shock that occurs when a comet hits the surface of a planet like the young Earth," said Mark McCaughrean, a senior scientific adviser at the European Space Agency. It's not yet known whether the complex molecules found in 67P were made in the early solar system and then incorporated into the comet or formed there later, he said. "Either way, it seems that comets are pretty good places to find the building blocks of molecules which later on could be used for life."
McCaughrean, who wasn't directly involved in the study, dismissed recent reports that evidence of life itself had been found on the comet. But he said the prebiotic compounds that were detected might be coaxed into even more complex molecules such as amino acids, including by a planetary impact.
Proteins, fundamental to living organisms, are made from long chains of amino acids, and the simplest one, glycine, was even detected in material collected from the tail of another comet by NASA's Stardust mission a few years ago. The Philae scientists have not found any amino acids on 67P yet, but that's not to say they aren't there. As Philae was only able to perform experiments for 60 hours before its batteries were depleted, scientists were unable to complete some of the work they had hoped to carry out.
Organic compounds on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko revealed by COSAC mass spectrometry [abstract]
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