Date of post: Nov 19, 2014
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/comet-team-detects-organic-molecules-basis-life-earth-161825051.html
The ESA actually defied NASAs protocol and announced that they lander Philae detected molecules of carbon life. This must have really upset NASA. Not only that but they said that they tried to drill 40 cm into the comet floor, but were blown away when they could not. Below the 10-20cm layer of dust the drill stopped as it hit an extremely hard surface. I think it hit the outer metal walls. No ice could withstand a drill. This comet may just be a space station camouflaged to look like a comet so it won't freak out primitive civilizations that spot it flying past. Three hours on the comet and already they released more evidence of life than the NASA did using their Mars Rover for last year and a half. Also the comet mission was substantially cheaper, even though the mission took a whopping 10 years to fly there. The ESA just put a boot in NASAs back side. SCW
Yahoo News states:
BERLIN (Reuters) - European comet lander Philae 'sniffed' organic molecules containing the carbon element that is the basis of life on Earth before its primary battery ran out and it shut down, German scientists said.
They said it was not yet clear whether they included the complex compounds that make up proteins. One of the key aims of the mission is to discover whether carbon-based compounds, and through them, ultimately, life, were brought to early Earth by comets.
Then goes on to say:
The lander also drilled into the comet's surface in its hunt for organic molecules, although it is unclear as yet whether Philae managed to deliver a sample to COSAC for analysis.
Also onboard the lander was the MUPUS tool to measure the density and thermal and mechanical properties of the comet's surface. It showed the comet's surface was not as soft as previously believed.
A thermal sensor was supposed to be hammered around 40 cm into the surface but this did not occur, despite the hammer setting being cranked up to its highest level.
The DLR reckons that after passing through a 10-20 cm thick layer of dust, the sensor hit a layer of material estimated to be as hard as ice.
"It's a surprise. We didn't expect such hard ice on the ground," Tilman Spohn, who leads the MUPUS team at the DLR, said in a statement on Tuesday. (more at source).
