Comet 67P atmosphere contains chemicals of life

The theory that extraterrestrial objects crashing into our planet could have brought chemicals crucial to the emergence of life has long been mooted, with an array of amino acids - the building blocks of proteins - already discovered on meteorites. But the new research adds weight to the notion that comets could also have played a role.
Now, scientists on the Rosetta mission have found building blocks for life in the cloud of gas and dust around the icy body known as comet 67P. The discovery backs up the idea that similar “dirty snowballs” could have been involved in kickstarting life on Earth.
The results reveal that the comet’s coma - the cloud of gas and dust that envelops the comet as it warms - contains the amino acid glycine, as well as the chemicals from which it is formed: methylamine and ethylamine. The equipment also detected the presence of small molecules such as hydrogen cyanide and hydrogen sulfide, as well as phosphorus - a key component of DNA.

https://www.theguardian.com/science...ins-chemicals-of-life-rosetta-mission-glycine

 

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I do not have the reference to hand, but researchers about ten years ago fired a slug of ice, loaded with amino acids into a target at velocities comparable with a cometary impact. The objective was to see if the amino acids could survive the impact intact. Not only did they so, but the energy of the impact led to them forming simple polypeptides. Polypeptides, of course, are 'baby' proteins.

 

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