NASA’s Dawn spacecraft discovered organic molecules on Ceres, and scientists are abuzz with the possibility that the tiny planet could host life.
Ceres is a frigid, Texas-sized dwarf planet that formed 4.5 billion years ago and is the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The discovery of organic molecules, considered the building blocks of life, not only points to the possibility of alien life but can also help figure out how life on our own planet formed.
These compounds were spotted by the Dawn’s Visible and InfraRed Mapping Spectrometer, and the findings were published Thursday in the journal Science. The spacecraft, along with other telescopes, detected water (in the form of ice) and carbonates on Ceres in the past. Ceres also sports a ton of bright white spots, which two previous studies identified as a salt-like substance. Dawn was launched in 2007 and has been orbiting Ceres since 2015.
“Ceres has evidence of ammonia-bearing hydrated minerals, water ice, carbonates, salts, and now organic materials,” Simone Marchi, one of the study’s authors, said in a statement. “With this new finding Dawn has shown that Ceres contains key ingredients for life.”
The report also highlighted that the molecules are likely native, meaning they formed on Ceres, as opposed to being residue from a collision with an asteroid or comet. Researchers aren’t positive exactly what the molecular compounds are, but wrote that they were similar to tar-like minerals, like asphaltite or kerite. They were discovered near a 32-mile-wide crater named Ernutet.
Dawn’s head scientist Christopher Russell told Reuters that the molecules are far from microbial life but that “this discovery tells us that we need to explore Ceres further.”
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
