Philae Probe Finds Evidence That Comets Can Be Cosmic Labs

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.

The July 20, 2015 photo released by the European Space Agency ESA on Tuesday, July 28, 2015 shows an image of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko with its coma taken by the Navcam camera of the Rosetta orbiter from a distance of 171km (106 miles) from the comet center. AP Photo/ESA/Rosetta/Navcam

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, used two separate instruments to “sniff” for molecules during its bumpy landing on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko last November.

In an article published July 30 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.