The comet landed on by the spacecraft Philae could well be home to an abundance of alien microbial life, according to leading astronomers.
Features of the comet, named 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, such as its organic-rich black crust, are most likely explained by the presence of living organisms beneath an icy surface, the scientists have said.
— The Guardian
On the other hand, Stuart Clark refutes the claims made in the linked article. In a response also published to the Guardian, "The vast majority of comet scientists would agree that comet 67P’s surface features are much more easily explained by non-biological mechanisms."
Philae, the spacecraft that landed on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko last November, is not equipped to search for direct evidence of human life. Neither is Rosetta, the European spacecraft currently in orbit around the comet. Calls to equip the spacecrafts were "allegedly laughed out of court," according to the article, which lays out an argument that an unwillingness to intellectually accept the possibility extraterrestrial life inhibits the possibility of finding any.
6 Comments
Amazing to not even hold an open mind about possibly finding something unexpected. Other than cost, why not? The craft could have easily been equipped with gear to at least drill into the surface and magnify / analyze the results
Without gear to test it, there is no way to properly analyze for life so there is no possibility of finding life on the comet even if there is a possibility of the comet consisting of microbial life.
The, Universe Song
Chandra Wickramasinghe is a known crank.
"not equipped to search for direct evidence of human life"
i think we would have seen them waving at us.
joking aside, Wickramasinghe is a quack who believed that SARS, the flu, and the red rain in India were all from space. not to say that the building blocks of life aren't present on the comet, but I'll be waiting for a real scientist in an actual scientific journal to publish real evidence for life on 67P and then read the peer reviews.
whether or not life is on this specific comet is something that only experimentation can prove...but the idea of life existing on comets in general is a very valid one...Panspermia is a widely accepted theory...We also now know for a fact that certain organisms can survive deep space even multicellular ones like tardigrades...People are too skeptical when it comes to this topic...Yes, proof must be the result of experimentation and all, but I would say that the idea that comets carry life is very logical one...
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