Cometary ices are rich in CO 2 , CO and organic volatile compounds, but the carbon content of cometary dust was only measured for the Oort Cloud comet 1P/Halley, during its flyby in 1986. The COmetary Secondary Ion Mass Analyzer (COSIMA)/Rosetta mass spectrometer analysed dust particles with sizes ranging from 50 to 1000 μm, collected over 2 yr, from 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P), a Jupiter family comet. Here, we report 67P dust composition focusing on the elements C and O. It has a high carbon content (atomic C/Si = 5.5 +1.4 −1.2 on average ) close to the solar value and comparable to the 1P/Halley data. From COSIMA measurements, we conclude that 67P particles are made of nearly 50 per cent organic matter in mass, mixed with mineral phases that are mostly anhydrous. The whole composition, rich in carbon and non-hydrated minerals, points to a primitive matter that likely preserved its initial characteristics since the comet accretion in the outer regions of the protoplanetary disc.

No abstract

Abstract-The Paris meteorite is one of the most primitive carbonaceous chondrites. It is reported to be the least aqueously altered CM chondrite, and to have experienced only weak thermal metamorphism. We have analyzed for the first time the amino acid and hydrocarbon contents of this pristine meteorite by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). When plotting the relative amino acids abundances of several CM chondrites according to the increasing hydrothermal scale (petrologic subtypes), from the CM2.7/2.8 Paris to the CM2.0 MET 01070, Paris has the lowest relative abundance of b-alanine/ glycine (0.15), which fits with the relative abundances of b-alanine/glycine increasing with increasing aqueous alteration for CM chondrites. These results confirm the influence of aqueous alteration on the amino acid abundances and distribution. The amino acid analysis shows that the isovaline detected in this meteorite is racemic (D/L = 0.99 AE 0.08; L-enantiomer excess = 0.35 AE 0.5%; corrected D/L = 1.03; corrected L-enantiomer excess = À1.4 AE 2.6%). The identified hydrocarbons show that Paris has n-alkanes ranging from C 16 to C 25 and 3-to 5-ring nonalkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The lack of alkylated PAHs in Paris seems to be also related to this low degree of aqueous alteration on its parent body. The extraterrestrial hydrocarbon content, suggested by the absence of any biomarker, may well have a presolar origin. The chemistry of the Paris meteorite may thus be closely related to the early stages of the solar nebula with a contribution from interstellar (molecular cloud) precursors.

The presence of solid carbonaceous matter in cometary dust was established by the detection of elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen in particles from comet 1P/Halley. Such matter is generally thought to have originated in the interstellar medium, but it might have formed in the solar nebula-the cloud of gas and dust that was left over after the Sun formed. This solid carbonaceous material cannot be observed from Earth, so it has eluded unambiguous characterization. Many gaseous organic molecules, however, have been observed; they come mostly from the sublimation of ices at the surface or in the subsurface of cometary nuclei. These ices could have been formed from material inherited from the interstellar medium that suffered little processing in the solar nebula. Here we report the in situ detection of solid organic matter in the dust particles emitted by comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko; the carbon in this organic material is bound in very large macromolecular compounds, analogous to the insoluble organic matter found in the carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. The organic matter in meteorites might have formed in the interstellar medium and/or the solar nebula, but was almost certainly modified in the meteorites' parent bodies. We conclude that the observed cometary carbonaceous solid matter could have the same origin as the meteoritic insoluble organic matter, but suffered less modification before and/or after being incorporated into the comet.

Context. Methyl formate (HCOOCH 3 ) is a complex organic molecule detected in hot cores and hot corinos. Gas-phase chemistry fails to reproduce its observed abundance, which usually varies between 10 −7 and 10 −9 with respect to H 2 . Aims. Laboratory experiments were performed in order to investigate a solid-state route of methyl formate formation, to obtain an estimate of the amount that can be formed, and to verify whether it can account for the observed abundances. Methods. Several solid samples (16 K) of astrophysical interest were analyzed by infrared spectroscopy in the 4400−400 cm −1 range. The infrared spectral characteristics of frozen methyl formate were studied by deriving their band strength values. The effects produced upon warm-up of the samples were analyzed comparing the spectra taken at different temperatures. In order to study the formation and destruction mechanism of methyl formate in the interstellar ices, a binary mixture of methanol (CH 3 OH) and carbon monoxide (CO) ice and a sample of pure methanol were irradiated at 16 K with 200 keV protons. Methyl formate was identified through its fundamental mode (CH 3 rocking) at about 1160 cm −1 . Results. We present the mid-infrared methyl formate ice spectrum showing both the amorphous (16 K) and the crystalline (110 K) structure. We report novel measurements of the band strength values of the six main methyl formate bands. We prove the formation and the destruction of methyl formate after irradiation of CH 3 OH and a CO:CH 3 OH mixture. Extrapolating our results to the interstellar medium conditions we found that the production timescale of methyl formate agrees well with the evolutionary time of molecular clouds. The comparison with the observational data indicates that the amount of methyl formate formed after irradiation can account for the observed abundances. Conclusions. The present results allow us to suggest that gas phase methyl formate observed in dense molecular clouds is formed in the solid state after cosmic ion irradiation of icy grain mantles containing CO and CH 3 OH and released to the gas phase after desorption of icy mantles.

No abstract

The COmetary Secondary Ion Mass Analyzer (COSIMA) on board the Rosetta mission has analysed numerous cometary dust particles collected at very low velocities (a few m s −1 ) in the environment of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (hereafter 67P). In these particles, carbon and nitrogen are expected mainly to be part of the organic matter. We have measured the nitrogen-to-carbon (N/C) atomic ratio of 27 cometary particles. It ranges from 0.018 to 0.06 with an averaged value of 0.035 ± 0.011. This is compatible with the measurements of the particles of comet 1P/Halley and is in the lower range of the values measured in comet 81P/Wild 2 particles brought back to Earth by the Stardust mission. Moreover, the averaged value found in 67P particles is also similar to the one found in the insoluble organic matter extracted from CM, CI and CR carbonaceous chondrites and to the bulk values measured in most interplanetary dust particles and micrometeorites. The close agreement of the N/C atomic ratio in all these objects indicates that their organic matters share some similarities and could have a similar chemical origin. Furthermore, compared to the abundances of all the detected elements in the particles of 67P and to the elemental solar abundances, the nitrogen is depleted in the particles and the nucleus of 67P as was previously inferred also for comet 1P/Halley. This nitrogen depletion could constrain the formation scenarios of cometary nuclei.

Laboratory experiments that simulate the photo-and thermo-chemistry of extraterrestrial ices always lead to the formation of semi-refractory organic residues. These residues can be considered as laboratory analogs for the primitive organic matter incorporated into comets and asteroids. Many specific organic molecules have been detected in them. Here we focus on amino acids because of their possible relevance to further prebiotic chemistry on Earth as well as in other solar system bodies. We compare the amino acid content and distribution measured in organic residues produced in our photochemical experiments to those observed in various CM chondrites presenting an increasing degree of aqueous alteration, a process that is thought to impact amino acid chemistry. We find that the amino acid profile of our residues shows similarities with that of the least aqueously altered CM chondrites. In particular, the β-alanine to glycine ratio is comparable to the one measured in the Paris meteorite, a minimally altered CM chondrite, and matches the trend followed by other CM chondrites with different degrees of aqueous alteration. Additionally, the relative abundances of α-, β-, and γ-amino acids in one of our residues are similar to those of the least altered CM chondrites. These results support the idea of a general formation process for amino acids from photo-and thermo-processing of icy grains as an important source for the inventory of amino acids in the early solar system.