Via ABC Science: The Rosetta spacecraft has detected significant levels of molecular oxygen coming from Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in a discovery that has taken astronomers by surprise. [pullquote]”This is the first comet that we’ve found which has molecular oxygen.”  -Dr André Bieler[/pullquote] The discovery, reported in the journal Nature, may provide new clues about the conditions and environment where the Earth, […]

Via The Guardian: 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. Rosetta, the European spacecraft […]