Does Rosetta's comet harbour ALIEN LIFE? Distinctive features on 67P may have been created by microscopic organisms
- Leading space experts say comet may be capable of housing microbial life
- Even suggest comet is more hospitable to life than Earth's polar regions
- Calculate that its distinct feature point to presence of living organisms
- Professors plan to include life-detecting device on lander was laughed at
Comet lander Philae may be sitting on an object teeming with alien microbial life, according to two leading astronomers.
Distinct features of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, such as its organic-rich black crust, are best explained by the presence of living organisms beneath an icy surface, they claim.
The experts go as far as to suggest the comet is more hospitable to life than the Earth's polar regions.
It is claimed that the distinct features of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, such as its organic-rich black crust, are best explained by the presence of living organisms beneath an icy surface
Rosetta, the European space craft orbiting the comet, is also said to have detected strange 'clusters' of organic material that look suspiciously like viral particles.
But neither Rosetta nor its lander are equipped to search for direct evidence of life after a proposal to include this in the mission was allegedly laughed out of court.
Astronomer and astrobiologist Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe, who was involved in the mission planning 15 years ago, said: 'I wanted to include a very inexpensive life-detection experiment. At the time it was thought this was a bizarre proposition.'
He and colleague Dr Max Wallis, from the University of Cardiff, believe 67P and other comets like it could provide homes for living microbes similar to the 'extremophiles' that inhabit the most inhospitable regions of the Earth.
Comets may have helped to sow the seeds of life on Earth and possibly other planets such as Mars early in the life of the solar system, they argue.
Steep ravines, icy surfaces and a thick dusty veil are captured on the comet's surface in high-resolution photographs taken by the Rosetta spacecraft
Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe believes 67P and other comets like it could provide homes for living microbes similar to the 'extremophiles' that inhabit the most inhospitable regions of the Earth
Prof Wickramasinghe and Dr Wallis have carried out computer simulations that suggest microbes could inhabit watery regions of the comet
ROSETTA: THE STORY SO FAR
The Rosetta probe, which was carrying Philae, launched into space in 2004, using the gravity of Earth and Mars to slingshot its way towards comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
It chased the comet through space for more than ten years, entering orbit in August 2014.
After a four-billion-mile (6.4 billion km) journey, the probe then successfully released the Philae lander (artist's impression shown left) from its grip to land on the comet on 12 November 2014, travelling at 3.3ft (one metre) a second relative to the comet.
But when it first made contact with the surface it failed to fire harpoons that would have kept it attached to the comet.
This resulted in it bouncing twice above the comet before landing.
Philae managed to perform more than 90 per cent of its goals on the surface before running out of power. Rosetta, meanwhile, continued to orbit and study the comet.
From data collected by the two probes, Esa said that water on the comet was different to that on Earth - suggesting water on our world came from an asteroid, not a comet.
Now, after a wait of seven months, enough sunlight is reaching Philae's solar panels that it has been able to communicate again.
It will now turn on some of its instruments again to perform new science. Whether there is any ice in the cliff it is wedged under, though, is unknown.
The astronomers will present their case for life on 67P at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting in Llandudno, Wales.
Philae made history last November after detaching from its Rosetta mothership and bouncing down onto the surface of the comet, coming to rest close to a cliff or crater wall.
After being forced into hibernation by the lack of sunlight reaching its solar panels, the probe has delighted scientists by 'waking up' as the comet races towards the sun.
The comet, described as looking like a 'rubber duck', has two lobes joined by a thinner neck and measures around 2.5 miles (4km) across.
Currently it is about 176.7 million miles (284.4 million km) from Earth and travelling at more than 73,000 mph (117,482km/h).
Professor Wickramasinghe and Dr Wallis have carried out computer simulations that suggest microbes could inhabit watery regions of the comet.
Organisms containing anti-freeze salts could be active at temperatures as low as -40°C, their research shows.
The comet has a black hydrocarbon crust overlaying ice, smooth icy 'seas', and flat-bottomed craters containing 'lakes' of re-frozen water overlain with organic debris.
Professor Wickramasinghe said: 'What we're saying is that data coming from the comet seems to unequivocally, in my opinion, point to micro-organisms being involved in the formation of the icy structures, the preponderance of aromatic hydrocarbons, and the very dark surface.
The comet has a black hydrocarbon crust overlaying ice, smooth icy 'seas', and flat-bottomed craters containing 'lakes' of re-frozen water overlain with organic debris
In total, more than 70 per cent of the comet's surface has now been imaged and beamed back to earth
'These are not easily explained in terms of pre-biotic chemistry.
'The dark material is being constantly replenished as it is boiled off by heat from the sun. Something must be doing that at a fairly prolific rate.'
He said several cracks in the ice had been shown to be 'spewing out material' that is falling on to the surface.
'I think the microbiotic activity just under the surface results in gas which builds up to the point where the overlaying layers of ice can't withstand the stresses,' said the professor.
Biological mechanisms were the likely explanation for the large quantities of organic gases that had been observed around comets, along with water, he maintained.
Philae had confirmed the presence of 'ring and linear chain' organic molecules on the surface of 67P that were more complex than simple hydrocarbons such as methane, said Professor Wickramasinghe.
However it was impossible to say if these represented amino acids, the building blocks of proteins.
In June, Philae made contact for a second time after seven months of hibernation. Professor Monica Grady from the Open University, who runs an instrument on the lander, told MailOnline that Philae has woken up 'just in time' to study the comet's most exciting phase
Philae had confirmed the presence of 'ring and linear chain' organic molecules on the surface of 67P that were more complex than simple hydrocarbons such as methane
One tantalising find was the discovery of organic 'particle clusters' by Rosetta in the gases surrounding the comet, which resembled viral particles collected from the Earth's upper atmosphere.
'They might be viral particles,' said Professor Wickramasinghe.
As the comet reaches its closest point to the sun - a distance of 121 million miles (195 million km) - its family of micro-organisms is likely to become more active, the scientists said.
Professor Wickramasinghe, director of the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology, believes it is time for a complete shift of thinking about the possibility of alien life.
He said: 'The current estimate for the number of extra-solar planets in the galaxy is 140 billion plus.
'Planets that can harbour life are really quite abundant in the galaxy, and the next neighbouring system to us is only spitting distance away.
'I think it's inevitable that life is going to be a cosmic phenomenon.
'Five hundred years ago it was a struggle to have people accept that the Earth was not the centre of the universe.
'After that revolution our thinking has remained Earth-centred in relation to life and biology.
'It's deeply ingrained in our scientific culture and it will take a lot of evidence to kick it over.'
He pointed out that when proof of organic molecules in space emerged in the 1970s 'the rebuttals were fierce' from the scientific establishment.
Future missions to 67P and other comets should include life-seeking instruments, he said. But space agencies appeared reluctant to engage in a serious quest for life that risked challenging 'a long established paradigm'.
Dr Wallis said: 'Rosetta has already shown that the comet is not to be seen as a deep-frozen inactive body, but supports geological processes and could be more hospitable to micro-life than our Arctic and Antarctic regions.'
The Royal Astronomical Society told The Independent the astronomers have created 'a model that suggests micro-organisms probably require liquid water bodies to colonise the comet and could inhabit cracks in the ice and snow'.
The two experts go as far as to suggest the comet is more hospitable to life than the Earth's polar regions. A bleak picture of pack ice at the North Pole is shown (stock image)
Philae will now join the comet as it makes its closest approach to the sun on 13 August 2015. After that, the comet will begin to move away back out into the solar system. It is expected that Philae will no longer have enough sunlight to continue working by about mid-October
WHAT WILL PHILAE DO NOW?
Once Philae became operational again, scientists checked to see it is healthy and turned its instruments on.
With ten instruments on board, and only 24 Watts of power available, Philae will use its instruments one by one in a specific order that is yet to be decided.
Some of these instruments will have a chance to perform advanced science that they didn't get a chance to perform during the brief 60 hours of operation after it landed on 12 November.
Contact has been re-established with Philae. The probe's instruments (shown here) will be turned on one by one to start gathering scientific data on the surface again
For example, the Ptolemy instrument - which analyses samples from the surface - was only able to study dust last time around.
This time, the team will be hoping it can study ice on the comet.
Philae will also take images of its surroundings and send these back to Earth, so that scientists can get a better understanding of what sort of position it is in.
This will help them work out how much sunlight will fall on the probe, and how long it can stay operational for again - expected to be weeks, and possibly months, as the comet reaches its closest point to the sun on 13 August.
After this, as it gets further away, Philae will eventually run out of power and go into hibernation for a second time - this time for good.
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