spacetoday.net: Rosetta finds building blocks of life on comet

Rosetta finds building blocks of life on comet

Posted: Mon, May 30, 2016, 3:16 PM ET (1916 GMT)
Rosetta spacecraft illustration (ESA)

Planetary scientists say they have found evidence of the building blocks of life on the comet being studied by ESA's Rosetta spacecraft. In a paper published in Science Advances May 27, scientists said the Rosetta spacecraft detected the amino acid glycine, used to make proteins, as well as phosphorous in the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The discovery, scientists said, is evidence that comets could have delivered key constituents for the formation of life on Earth, even though the isotopic composition of water on the comet is different from what's seen in Earth's oceans.