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BERLIN — 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, in November used two separate instruments to “sniff” for molecules during its bumpy landing on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
In an article published Thursday in the journal Science, researchers said they spent months analyzing the data and concluded that 67P contains at least 16 organic compounds.
Four of them, including acetone, hadn’t been detected on a comet before.
