The comet that the Philae space probe landed on to travel through the galaxy unequivocally possesses a form of alien life, according to a leading scientist.
Philae landed on the 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet in November, 2014, over ten years after it originally left Earth. It has only recently started to “wake up” on the comet after initially hibernating following its landing. That’s because sunlight is now able to reach its solar panels as it races towards the sun at a speed of over 73,000 miles-per-hour.
And what it is transmitting back has scientists extremely excited. Philae has been able to spot certain features on the comet, such as an carbon-rich black crust, which they believe could only have been created by living organisms beneath the comet’s icy surface.
Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe , an astronomer and astrobiologist who helped to plan the mission 15 years ago, has now explained to Sky News that the data that is being sent their way basically proves that the comet is home to some sort of alien life form.
“What we’re saying is that data coming from the comet seems to unequivocally, in my opinion, point to micro-oraganisms being involved in the formation of the icy structures, the preponderance of aromatic hydrocarbons, and the very dark surface.
These are not easily explained in terms of pre-biotic chemistry. The dark material is being constantly replenished as it is boiled off by heat from the Sun. Something must be doing that at a fairly prolific rate.”
Organic “particle clusters” that were discovered by Rosetta, a European spacecraft that is currently orbiting the comet, also resembles material that has been previously collected from the Earth’s atmosphere.
Professor Wickramasinghe believes that this discovery could even lead us closer to finding a planet that is able to harbour human life. He explained as follows.
“They might be viral particles. The current estimate for the number of extra-solar planets in the galaxy is 140 billion plus. Planets that can harbour life are really quite abundant in the galaxy, and the next neighbouring system to us is only spitting distance away. I think it’s inevitable that life is going to be a cosmic phenomenon.”
Meanwhile, Professor Wickramasinghe also declared that this discovery will help to alter the perception that the universe is Earth centric.
“Five hundred years ago it was a struggle to have people accept that the Earth was not the centre of the universe. After that revolution our thinking has remained Earth-centred 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.”
There’s just one problem: neither Rosetta or Philae possess a device that can directly search for evidence of life after the proposal to include “a life detection experiment” was rejected for being a “bizarre proposition.”
[Image via Space Flight Now ]
