An even bigger find would be the discovery of an amino acid on comet 67P. In 2009, a U.S. spacecraft discovered the amino acid glycine on a comet. A similar find on 67P would bolster a view that life on earth was seeded by comets that brought organic compounds with them. Although Philae’s primary battery ran out of power on Friday night, scientists completed a maneuver that has positioned one of the probe’s larger solar panels more fully toward sunlight. It means that the probe may yet come to life next summer or a bit earlier, as the comet heads closer to the sun. “We are very confident that in coming months we’ll get more sun and power and Philae can be reactivated,” Dr. Ulamec said.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 03:09:22 +0000
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