Published June 15, 2015
| Version v1
Conference paper
Organic Compounds on the Nucleus of Comet 67/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as Revealed by COSAC Mass Spectrometry
Creators
- Goesmann, Fred
- Rosenbauer, Helmut
- Bredehoeft, Jan Hendrik
- Cabane, Michel
- Ehrenfreund, Pascale
- Gauthier, Thomas
- Giri, Chaitanya
- Krueger, Harald
- Le Roy, Léna
- Mc Dermott, Alexandra
- Mckenna Lawlor, Susan
- Meierhenrich, U.
- Munoz Caro, G.
- Raulin, François
- Roll, R.
- Steele, A.
- Steininger, H.
- Sternberg, R.
- Szopa, Cyril
- Thiemann, W.
- Ulamec, S.
Contributors
Others:
- Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) ; Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
- Institute for Applied and Physical Chemistry [Bremen] (IAPC) ; University of Bremen
- PLANETO - LATMOS ; Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS) ; Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Leiden Observatory [Leiden] ; Universiteit Leiden [Leiden]
- Space Policy Institute [Washington] ; The George Washington University (GW)
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
- Institut de Chimie de Nice (ICN) ; Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) (UNS) ; COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-COMUE Université Côte d'Azur (2015-2019) (COMUE UCA)-Institut de Chimie du CNRS (INC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Côte d'Azur (UCA)
- Center for Space and Habitability (CSH) ; University of Bern
- University of Houston [Clear Lake]
- Space Technology Ireland Limited
- Centro de Astrobiologia [Madrid] (CAB) ; Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA)-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [Madrid] (CSIC)
- Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA (UMR_7583)) ; Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12 (UPEC UP12)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Geophysical Laboratory [Carnegie Institution] ; Carnegie Institution for Science
- German Aerospace Center (DLR)
- USRA Houston
Description
The evolved gas analyzer COmetary SAmplingand Composition experiment (COSAC) aboardthe Philae Lander of ESA's Rosetta mission was designedto make unique in situ chemical analyses ofnucleus material from comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, with an emphasis on organic molecules.Twenty-five minutes after Philae's initial touchdown,the COSAC mass spectrometer took a spectrum insniffing mode, which displayed an interesting suite oforganic compounds. The sampled material is likely tohave originated from the dust cloud produced by Philae'sfirst contact with the ground. Analysis of themass spectrum shows 16 compounds, among them sixdistinct organic homologous series: alcohols, carbonyls,amines, nitriles, amides and isocyanates. Nearlyall the molecules inferred from our data are potentialprecursors, products, adducts or by-products of eachother that can be formed either by surface reactions orby thermal and/or radiation processing of icy surfaces.A relatively abundant nitrogen source, such as NH3, isrequired to form the suite of N-bearing species. Severalorganic compounds have not been identified in cometsbefore or only upper limits have been derived. Overallthe identified compounds provide indications of severalpossible links between interstellar chemistry, cometaryorganic chemistry and terrestrial prebiotic chemistry.These unique COSAC measurements from a cometarysurface provide an unprecedented glimpse intothe early origins of our solar system, 4.6 billion yearsago.
Abstract
International audienceAdditional details
Identifiers
- URL
- https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-01183385
- URN
- urn:oai:HAL:insu-01183385v1
Origin repository
- Origin repository
- UNICA