Science on the Surface of a Comet [merged]

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Science on the Surface of a Comet

30 July 2015 Complex molecules that could be key building blocks of life, the daily rise and fall of temperature, and an assessment of the surface properties and internal structure of the comet are just some of the highlights of the first scientific analysis of the data returned by Rosetta’s lander Philae last November.

Early results from Philae’s first suite of scientific observations of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko were published today in a special edition of the journal Science.

Read more...

[Merc14]

It looks like the bounce was a positive, in some ways, as it provided initial science with the first contact and then an observation period from very low altitude and data from a second landing site. The fact that the comet is rich in organic materials has to be an exciting find for biologists.

[pallidin]

London (CNN)

Could life on Earth have been kick-started by a comet strike? A startling discovery by the Rosetta comet-chasing mission has added fresh evidence to suggest that it is possible.

The European Space Agency (ESA), which is leading a consortium that includes NASA, announced that the mission to explore Comet 67P has discovered 16 organic compounds, described as "carbon and nitrogen-rich."

The agency says on its website that the discovery, made by the Philae lander includes four compounds that have never before been detected in comets.

And it adds that some of the compounds "play a key role in the prebiotic synthesis of amino acids, sugars ... the ingredients for life."

Source http://www.cnn.com/2...very/index.html

Edited August 2, 2015 by pallidin

[pallidin]

I wonder... could such compounds even survive the atmospheric entry and eventual high-speed impact on a planet or other celestial object?

Apparently so. They are just compounds, I guess.