Clusters of organic materials found.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: After the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft landed on the surface of comet 67P and picked up clusters of organic materials that resemble viral particles, scientists have been wrestling with the implications.
While one group of astronomers believe the comet could be the home to alien life, another school of thought dismisses those claims entirely.
According to The Independent, two “leading astronomers” believe that comets like 67P could be responsible for bringing life to Earth and potentially other planets. The British outlet reported the pair have completed computer simulations which show that microbes could live in watery regions of the comet.
Earlier this week at the National Astronomy Meeting in Llandudno, Wales astrophysicists from Cardiff and Buckingham Universities bolstered the theory, saying 67P appeared to have frozen lakes which could hold organic debris.
Dr. Max Wallis claimed micro-organisms could inhabit cracks in the ice and snow.
“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,” he told The Telegraph.
However, the scientists behind the mission itself said the comet was probably too inhospitable for life to exist.
“I think it is highly unlikely,” said Professor Monica Grady of the Open University to The Telegraph. She helped design the Ptolemy instrument carried by the Philae lander that accompanied the Rosetta spacecraft.
Another Rosetta project scientist, Dr. Matt Taylor, echoes his colleague’s sentiment. “It’s pure speculation,” he said, adding, “I think it is unlikely.”