title: Prebiotic chemicals-amino acid and phosphorus-in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
abstract: The importance of comets for the origin of life on Earth has been advocated for many decades. Amino acids are key ingredients in chemistry, leading to life as we know it. Many primitive meteorites contain amino acids, and it is generally believed that these are formed by aqueous alterations. In the collector aerogel and foil samples of the Stardust mission after the flyby at comet Wild 2, the simplest form of amino acids, glycine, has been found together with precursor molecules methylamine and ethylamine. Because of contamination issues of the samples, a cometary origin was deduced from the (13)C isotopic signature. We report the presence of volatile glycine accompanied by methylamine and ethylamine in the coma of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko measured by the ROSINA (Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis) mass spectrometer, confirming the Stardust results. Together with the detection of phosphorus and a multitude of organic molecules, this result demonstrates that comets could have played a crucial role in the emergence of life on Earth.
authors.affiliation: Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.; Center for Space and Habitability, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Kathrin
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2677-8238
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Altwegg
authors.affiliation: Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Hans
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2315-5526
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Balsiger
authors.affiliation: Department of Geoscience, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv 6997801, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Akiva
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5158-5940
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bar-Nun
authors.affiliation: LATMOS/IPSL-CNRS-UPMC-UVSQ (Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales/ Institut Pierre Simon Laplace -CNRS-Universite Pierre et Marie Curie-Universite de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines), 4 Avenue de Neptune, F-94100 Saint-Maur, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Jacques
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4261-2772
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Berthelier
authors.affiliation: Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.; Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, 2455 Hayward, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Andre
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5956-4722
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bieler
authors.affiliation: Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bochsler
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace (LPC2E), UMR CNRS 7328-Université d'Orléans, 45100 Orléans, France.
authors.forename: Christelle
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Briois
authors.affiliation: Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Ursina
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Calmonte
authors.affiliation: Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, 2455 Hayward, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Combi
authors.affiliation: LISA (Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques), UMR CNRS 7583, Université Paris Est Créteil et Université Paris Diderot, IPSL, 94010 Créteil, France.
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9170-5265
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cottin
authors.affiliation: Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Ringlaan 3, B-1180 Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Johan
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4805-5695
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: De Keyser
authors.affiliation: Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Ringlaan 3, B-1180 Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Frederik
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dhooghe
authors.affiliation: Institute of Computer and Network Engineering (IDA), Technische Universität Braunschweig, Hans-Sommer-Straße 66, D-38106 Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Bjorn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fiethe
authors.affiliation: Department of Space Science, Southwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Road, San Antonio, TX 78228, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen A
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4101-7901
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Fuselier
authors.affiliation: Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5956-4722
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gasc
authors.affiliation: Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, 2455 Hayward, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Tamas I
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-9360-4951
authors.initials: TI
authors.lastname: Gombosi
authors.affiliation: Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, 2455 Hayward, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth C
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8502-1980
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.affiliation: Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.; Department of Space Science, Southwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Road, San Antonio, TX 78228, USA.
authors.forename: Myrtha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haessig
authors.affiliation: Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jäckel
authors.affiliation: Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Ernest
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7988-1191
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kopp
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Korth
authors.affiliation: Center for Space and Habitability, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Lena
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5984-6153
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Le Roy
authors.affiliation: Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 3, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Urs
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Mall
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherches Pétrographiques et Géochimiques (CRPG-CNRS), Université de Lorraine, 15 rue Notre Dame des Pauvres, BP 20, 54501 Vandoeuvre lès Nancy, France.
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Marty
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LAM (Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille) UMR 7326, 13388 Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Mousis
authors.affiliation: Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Owen
authors.affiliation: Université de Toulouse, UPS-OMP (Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier-Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées), IRAP, F-31028 Toulouse, France.; CNRS, IRAP, 9 Avenue du Colonel Roche, BP 44346, F-31028 Toulouse Cedex 4, France.
authors.forename: Henri
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rème
authors.affiliation: Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6549-3318
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.affiliation: Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2588-7659
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sémon
authors.affiliation: Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Chia-Yu
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1812-1201
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Tzou
authors.affiliation: Department of Space Science, Southwest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Road, San Antonio, TX 78228, USA.
authors.forename: James
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1978-1025
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hunter Waite
authors.affiliation: Physikalisches Institut, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wurz
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods; D019110:Meteoroids; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000737:chemistry*; D056692:Prebiotics / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D056692:Prebiotics; D010758:Phosphorus
keywords: 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko; Origins of life; amino acid; astronomy; chemistry; comets; prebiotic molecules