Did alien microbes carve odd features on Rosetta comet?
Leading astronomers have put forth a startling explanation for the distinctive features found on聽Comet聽67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko: the comet's activity was shaped by microorganisms.聽聽
For the past eleven months, the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft has been orbiting the oddly shaped comet. So far, scientists retrieving data from the space probe have聽made several discoveries that have helped us better understand how comets work, such as the origins of its giant聽dynamic sinkholes,聽the composition of comet dust, and what happens when聽67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is warmed by the sun.聽
And perhaps this mission could ultimately play a role in the discovery of extraterrestrial life.
Speaking at the 聽Royal Astronomical Society鈥檚 National Astronomy Meeting in Wales on Monday,聽astrobiologists聽Max Wallis of the University of Cardiff and聽Chandra Wickramasinghe of the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology argue that聽certain features of the comet, such as its organic-rich black crust, are best explained living beneath its icy surface. Rosetta is also said to have picked up mysterious clusters of organic material resembling viral particles.聽
Neither Rosetta nor its probe, Philae 鈥� which made history as the first lander to touch down on a comet's surface in November 2014 鈥� are equipped to search for evidence of alien life. The inclusion of the necessary equipment was proposed prior to the spacecraft's launch in 2004, but was ultimately rejected.
Now, some astronomers are saying聽67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko聽and other comets could be home to living microbes similar to the 鈥渆xtremophiles鈥� that inhabit Earth's most inhospitable conditions. They argue that these comets may have contributed to the presence of life on Earth and possibly other planets such as Mars.聽
Computer simulations suggest microbes could inhabit the comet's watery regions. Organisms that contain antifreeze salts could be active at temperatures as low as 40 degrees below zero, researchers say.
Comet聽67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko聽has a black hydrocarbon crust overlaying ice, smooth icy 鈥渟eas,鈥� and flat-bottomed craters that hold lakes of re-frozen water containing organic debris. Dr. Wickramasinghe The Guardian that research seems to point to 鈥渕icro-organisms being involved in the formation of the icy structures, the preponderance of aromatic hydrocarbons, and the very dark surface鈥�.
Wickramasinghe, who was involved in the mission planning 15 years ago, says that people should be more open to the possibility of real-life aliens.聽
鈥淔ive hundred years ago it was a struggle to have people accept that the Earth was not the centre of the universe," he said. "After that revolution our thinking has remained Earth-centred in relation to life and biology. It鈥檚 deeply ingrained in our scientific culture and it will take a lot of evidence to kick it over.鈥�
Rosetta's findings have demonstrated that the "comet is not to be seen as a deep-frozen inactive body" but one that "supports geological processes and could be more hospitable to micro-life than our Arctic and Antarctic regions,"聽Wickramsinghe's colleague Dr. Wallis聽 The Independent.聽
Dr. Wallis will present their findings to the聽Royal Astronomical Society鈥檚 National Astronomy Meeting in Wales today.
