All articles tagged with #comet 67p
On November 12, 2014, the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission made history when its lander, Philae, successfully touched down on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. This marked the first time a human-made object landed on a comet, following a 10-year journey through the solar system covering over 310 million miles. The mission provided valuable images and data from the comet's surface.
Scientists studying data from the Rosetta orbiter's spectrometer for ion and neutral analysis (ROSINA) instrument have detected large organosulfur molecules on the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. They conducted laboratory simulations to show that these molecules could have formed through chemical reactions involving hydrogen sulfide. The findings highlight the significance of cometary sulfur chemistry and its presence in precometary materials, providing insights into the composition of comets and icy small bodies. The James Webb Space Telescope is expected to further enhance our understanding of the chemistry of the solar system and the evolution of such interstellar bodies.