Rosetta mission managers noticed something unexpected and groundbreaking in the Comet 67/P-G, oxygen.
Published in the journal Nature, the new study detailed molecular oxygen in gas clouds left behind by the comet. Scientists analyzing results from the Rosetta spacecraft orbiting the comet noticed the oxygen thanks to the Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA) instrument, BBC News reported.
The researchers discussed their findings at a news conference hosted by Nature on Tuesday.
"When we first saw it, we went a little bit into denial because it is not what you would expect to find on a comet," BBC News quoted Kathrin Altwegg, a professor at Bern University and an author on the study, telling reporters. "It was the most surprising discovery we have made so far (about the comet).
"The big question was how it got there."
André Bieler, a co-author on the study at the University of Michigan, said analyzing a comet is the condition of the chemicals preserved within, The Washington Post reported.
"If we have O2 at the beginning of the formation of the comet, how did it survive so long?" he told reporters at the news conference. "All the models say it shouldn't survive for so long, which tells us something about the building of our Solar System - it has to be very gentle to build these ice grains, it seems it is a pretty pristine material still.
"Now we have evidence that this significant part of this comet has in fact survived the formation of our Solar System."
