Organic compounds on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko revealed by COSAC mass spectrometry

2015454 citationsJournal Articlegreen Open Access

Authors

F. Goesmann · Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research

H. Rosenbauer · Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research

Jan Hendrik Bredehöft · University of Bremen

M. Cabane · Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

P. Ehrenfreund · Leiden University

Thomas Gautier · Goddard Space Flight Center

Chaitanya Giri

Abstract

Comets harbor the most pristine material in our solar system in the form of ice, dust, silicates, and refractory organic material with some interstellar heritage. The evolved gas analyzer Cometary Sampling and Composition (COSAC) experiment aboard Rosetta's Philae lander was designed for in situ analysis of organic molecules on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Twenty-five minutes after Philae's initial comet touchdown, the COSAC mass spectrometer took a spectrum in sniffing mode, which displayed a suite of 16 organic compounds, including many nitrogen-bearing species but no sulfur-bearing species, and four compounds—methyl isocyanate, acetone, propionaldehyde, and acetamide—that had not previously been reported in comets.

Topics & Keywords

Astro and Planetary Science Astronomical and nuclear sciences Mass Spectrometry Techniques and Applications

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Sustainable cities and communities

Publication Details

Published in: Science

Volume 349, Issue 6247, pp. aab0689-aab0689

DOI: 10.1126/science.aab0689

Field-Weighted Citation Impact: 42.48