New research based on the Rosetta mission's findings suggests Comet 67-P/G may sustain a unique form of an alien microbial life form.
According to the Guardian, Max Wallis and Chandra Wickramasinghe reasoned that microorganisms exist beneath the comet's surface, creating its outer crust that appears to be abundantly organic.
"Rosetta has already shown that the comet is not to be seen as a deep-frozen inactive body, but supports geological processes and could be more hospitable to micro-life than our Arctic and Antarctic regions," Wallis, an astronomer at the University of Cardiff, said in a statement.
The European Space Agency (ESA) landed the Philae spacecraft onto Comet 67-P/G last Nov., the first feat of its kind. However, the historic landing did not go completely as planned and Philae wound up under a cliff and unable to gather sunlight. After months spent idle, the Rosetta satellite tracking from above, Philae finally was able to turn itself on in June.
Wickramasinghe, director of the Buckingham Center for Astrobiology, was involved in the ESA's planning of the Rosetta mission some 15 years ago, the Guardian noted. He was also of the opinion that the SARS virus arrived on Earth from space.
"Five hundred years ago it was a struggle to have people accept that the Earth was not the center of the universe," he told the newspaper. "After that revolution our thinking has remained Earth-centered in relation to life and biology. It's deeply ingrained in our scientific culture and it will take a lot of evidence to kick it over."
Wallis and Wickramasinghe presented their findings and analysis Monday at the National Astronomy Meeting at Venue Cymru in Llandudno, Wales.
