CANADA: The Comet 67P/Churyumov¬-Gerasimenko packs some of the key building blocks of life including some that play a key role in the prebiotic synthesis of amino acids, sugars and nucleobases, the European Space Agency (ESA) said based on analysis of data collected by its Philae lander.
Published in a special edition of the journal Science, the early results from Philae’s first suite of scientific observations of comet 67P reveal a range of things including the 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.
ESA said that the lander completed some 80 per cent of the first science sequence in the 64 hours following Philae’s separation and before it went into hibernation. ESA said that the added bonus was that the lander managed to collect data from spots during its multiple touchdowns enabling scientists to compare data between the touchdown sites.
Data were obtained during the lander’s seven-hour descent to its first touchdown at the Agilkia landing site, which then triggered the start of a sequence of predefined experiments. However, shortly after touchdown Philae rebounded and so a number of measurements were carried out as the lander took flight for an additional two hours some 100 m above the comet, before finally landing at Abydos.
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