Philae finds organics on comet

Philae detected organic molecules on the surface of comet 67P before it went into hibernation scientists have confirmed. The German-built Coasc instrument, designed to ‘sniff’ the comet’s atmosphere, picked up the compounds but scientists have yet to disclose which molecules they are or how complex they are. Although preliminary, the results provide support to the theory that comets provided some of the chemical building blocks of life. During its 60 waking hours on the comet, Philae managed to complete its primary science mission and return all housekeeping and science data from targeted science instruments. “It has been a huge success, the whole team is delighted,” said Stephan Ulamec, lander manager at the DLR German Aerospace Agency. “Despite the unplanned series of three touchdowns, all of our instruments could be operated and now it’s time to see what we’ve got.” Results from the Mupus instrument, which used a hammer to probe the surface, suggest the comet has a thick layer of dust – between 10 and 20 cm –surrounding a hard ice-water interior, with a tensile strength similar to that of sandstone. "It's within a very broad spectrum of ice models. It was harder than expected at that location, but it's still within bounds," Professor Mark McCaughrean, senior science adviser to Esa, told BBC News. "People will be playing with [mathematical] models of pure water-ice mixed with certain amount of dust." He believes that the comet is unlikely to be rocky given its overall density of 0.4g/cm³; instead it is more likely there is sintered ice at the surface with a more porous material lower down which hasn’t been exposed to the sun in the same way. One of Philae’s key objectives was to drill a sample from the comet and analyse it in Cosac’s oven, but the latest information suggests a sample might not have been retrieved as there were no organics in the signal. Philae was also lifted by 4cm rotated 35° in an attempt to receive more power, but this was not enough and the lander went into hibernation. It is hoped that Philae will be contactable again as the comet moves closer to the sun throughout 2015. The solar illumination will charge the lander’s batteries and enable science to resume.