Philae has detected organic molecules on comet


Organic molecules are essential for life, and the Philae spacecraft has found some on the surface of the comet it landed on last week.
Comet 67P is more than 500 million miles from Earth. A German-built instrument "sniffed" the atmosphere of the comet and picked up the compounds, the BBC reports. After Philae landed, a hammer struck the comet, and preliminary results sent back suggest there is a layer of dust on the surface with hard water-ice underneath.
Scientists hope that the data sent back will help shed light on the role comets and their chemicals may have had on the early Earth. They also hope that as the comet approaches the sun, Phliae's solar panels will recharge its battery enough to let the craft conduct more experiments — because it landed in the shadows of some sort of cliff, Philae is now in standby mode.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
How successful would Elon Musk's third party be?
Today's Big Question Musk has vowed to start a third party after falling out with Trump
-
Music reviews: Bruce Springsteen and Benson Boone
Feature "Tracks II: The Lost Albums" and "American Heart"
-
Why passkeys are the next frontier in digital security
A disruptive new technology promises to put passwords to bed forever — but not yet
-
New York plans first nuclear plant in 36 years
Speed Read The plant, to be constructed somewhere in upstate New York, will produce enough energy to power a million homes
-
Possible dwarf planet found at edge of solar system
Under the radar The celestial body has an unusual orbit
-
Dehorning rhinos sharply cuts poaching, study finds
Speed Read The painless procedure may be an effective way to reduce the widespread poaching of rhinoceroses
-
Breakthrough gene-editing treatment saves baby
speed read KJ Muldoon was healed from a rare genetic condition
-
Sea lion proves animals can keep a beat
speed read A sea lion named Ronan beat a group of college students in a rhythmic dance-off, says new study
-
Humans heal much slower than other mammals
Speed Read Slower healing may have been an evolutionary trade-off when we shed fur for sweat glands
-
Novel 'bone collector' caterpillar wears its prey
Speed Read Hawaiian scientists discover a carnivorous caterpillar that decorates its shell with the body parts of dead insects
-
Scientists find hint of alien life on distant world
Speed Read NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has detected a possible signature of life on planet K2-18b