Phosphorus, present in our DNA and cell membranes, is an essential element for life as we know it. But how it arrived on the early Earth is something of a mystery. Astronomers have now traced the journey of phosphorus from star-forming regions to comets using the combined powers of ALMA and the European Space Agency’s probe Rosetta. Their research shows, for the first time, where molecules containing phosphorus form, how this element is carried in comets, and how a particular molecule may have played a crucial role in starting life on our planet.
“Life appeared on Earth about 4 billion years ago, but we still do not know the processes that made it possible,“
says Víctor Rivilla, the lead author of a new study published today in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. The new results from the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner, and from the ROSINA instrument on board Rosetta, show that phosphorus monoxide is a key piece in the origin-of-life puzzle.
With the power of ALMA, which allowed a detailed look into the star-forming region AFGL 5142, astronomers could pinpoint where phosphorus-bearing molecules, like phosphorus monoxide, form. New stars and planetary systems arise in cloud-like regions of gas and dust in between stars, making these interstellar clouds the ideal places to start the search for life’s building blocks.
The ALMA observations showed that phosphorus-bearing molecules are created as massive stars are formed. Flows of gas from young massive stars open up cavities in interstellar clouds. Molecules containing phosphorus form on the cavity walls, through the combined action of shocks and radiation from the infant star. The astronomers have also shown that phosphorus monoxide is the most abundant phosphorus-bearing molecule in the cavity walls.
After searching for this molecule in star-forming regions with ALMA, the European team moved on to a Solar System object: the now-famous comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. The idea was to follow the trail of these phosphorus-bearing compounds. If the cavity walls collapse to form a star, particularly a less-massive one like the Sun, phosphorus monoxide can freeze out and get trapped in the icy dust grains that remain around the new star. Even before the star is fully formed, those dust grains come together to form pebbles, rocks and ultimately comets, which become transporters of phosphorus monoxide.
ROSINA, which stands for Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis, collected data from 67P for two years as Rosetta orbited the comet. Astronomers had found hints of phosphorus in the ROSINA data before, but they did not know what molecule had carried it there. Kathrin Altwegg, the Principal Investigator for Rosina and an author in the new study, got a clue about what this molecule could be after being approached at a conference by an astronomer studying star-forming regions with ALMA:
“She said that phosphorus monoxide would be a very likely candidate, so I went back to our data and there it was!”
This first sighting of phosphorus monoxide on a comet helps astronomers draw a connection between star-forming regions, where the molecule is created, all the way to Earth.
“The combination of the ALMA and ROSINA data has revealed a sort of chemical thread during the whole process of star formation, in which phosphorus monoxide plays the dominant role,”
says Rivilla, who is a researcher at the Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory of INAF, Italy’s National Institute for Astrophysics.
“Phosphorus is essential for life as we know it,” adds Altwegg. “As comets most probably delivered large amounts of organic compounds to the Earth, the phosphorus monoxide found in comet 67P may strengthen the link between comets and life on Earth.”
This intriguing journey could be documented because of the collaborative efforts between astronomers.
“The detection of phosphorus monoxide was clearly thanks to an interdisciplinary exchange between telescopes on Earth and instruments in space,”
says Altwegg.
Leonardo Testi, ESO astronomer and ALMA European Operations Manager, concludes:
“Understanding our cosmic origins, including how common the chemical conditions favourable for the emergence of life are, is a major topic of modern astrophysics. While ESO and ALMA focus on the observations of molecules in distant young planetary systems, the direct exploration of the chemical inventory within our Solar System is made possible by ESA missions, like Rosetta. The synergy between world leading ground-based and space facilities, through the collaboration between ESO and ESA, is a powerful asset for European researchers and enables transformational discoveries like the one reported in this paper.”
1. Monday, Jan. 13, 2020; 7 pm PST (9 pm CST, 10 pm EST): No special programming today.
2. SPECIAL TIME: Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020; 6 pm PST (8 pm CST; 9 pm EST): We welcome Janelle Wellons of JPL to discuss future Titan settlement prospects and space mission instrument and related engineering topics.
3. Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020: Pre-recorded Hotel Mars Program with John Batchelor. See Upcoming Show on The Space Show website for details. NO SHOW FOR NEW YEARS DAY.
4. Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020; 7-8:30 pm PST (9-10:30 pm CST, 10-11:30 pm EST): No special program today.
5. Friday, Jan. 17, 2020; 9:30-11 am PST (11:30 am-1 pm CST, 12:30-2 pm EST): We welcome back Douglas Messier of Parabolic Arc for news and updates.
6. Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020; 12-1:30 pm PST (3-4:30 pm EST, 2-3:30 pm CST): We welcome our OPEN LINES program. All calls welcome. Talk to other callers too.
Some recent shows:
** Sun, 01/12/2020 – Jim Muncy discussed “many policy and commercial space topics including settlement, Congress, NASA and more”.
A sampling of recent articles, videos, and images dealing with space transport (find previous roundups here):
** SpaceX test fired Falcon 9 on Pad 39A on Saturday in preparation for the in-flight abort (IFA) test of the Crew Dragon space. The test is currently set to lift off on January 18th at 8 am EST.
Static fire of Falcon 9 complete – targeting January 18 for an in-flight demonstration of Crew Dragon’s launch escape system, which will verify the spacecraft’s ability to carry astronauts to safety in the unlikely event of an emergency during ascent
Half of the European launch provider’s 2020 manifest is comprised of OneWeb launches — 10 Soyuz missions and the inaugural launch of the Ariane 62 rocket.
Arianespace also has two launches scheduled for its smallest rocket, Vega, and two for the larger next-generation Vega C, Stéphane Israël, Arianespace’s chief executive, said in a Jan. 7 interview.
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Of the 22 missions, 14 are planned from Europe’s spaceport, the Guiana Space Center, on the coast of South America, Israël said. The remaining eight are Soyuz missions the company expects will be split about even between Russia’s spaceports, the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East, near China, he said.
Arianespace’s record is 12 launches in one year, set in 2015.
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) is on track for the first cargo flight of its Dream Chaser spacecraft next year. Looking like a small space shuttle, Dream Chaser lost out on a contract for NASA’s commercial crew program, but was selected in the second round of commercial cargo contracts. SNC still plans to use Dream Chaser for crewed missions for other customers and expects the first within 5 years. SNC also is bidding on contracts for NASA’s Artemis program, including as part of a Dynetics team for the Human Landing System.
Steve Lindsey, a former NASA astronaut who is now SNC’s Senior Vice President of Strategy for Space Systems, and other SNC officials gave updates on Dream Chaser and other space activities during a media telecon today.
SNC has “never stopped working” on the crewed version of Dream Chaser, Lindsey said. While the company’s focus right now is getting the cargo version ready for its first flight on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan-Centaur rocket next year, the first crewed flight “absolutely” will take place within 5 years.
Based in El Segundo, California, ABL was founded by former SpaceX engineers in 2017 to develop low-cost launch vehicles for the small satellite industry. The company’s RS1 vehicle was designed to lift 1,200 kilograms into low Earth orbit at a price of $12 million per launch.
ABL announced on July 22 — just days after signing the cooperative agreement with AFRL — that Lockheed Martin Ventures would become an investor in the company.
Nils Sedano, technical adviser on rocket propulsion systems at AFRL, told SpaceNews Jan. 9 that ABL has “come in and established their presence at area 1-56 of the AFRL rocket propulsion division.”
AFRL is the primary rocket propulsion scientific research and development center for the U.S. Air Force.
was led by Puhua Capital and Huaqiang Capital with six further investors. The funding was secured in October and announced by Galactic Energy late December (Chinese). The funds will be used for the first launch of the Ceres-1 solid rocket in the first half of 2020.
Ceres-1 will consist of three solid stages using Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene fuel and a liquid propellant upper stage. The launcher will be capable of carrying a 350-kilogram payload to low Earth orbit.
The company’s full English name is Beijing Xinghe Dongli Space Technology Co. Ltd.
High above Earth, The Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 spacecraft is still sailing on sunbeams. During the 5 months since LightSail 2 deployed its solar sail on 23 July 2019, the spacecraft has continued to demonstrate the first controlled solar-sailing flight in Earth orbit.
LightSail 2 flies at a higher altitude than most satellites in low-Earth orbit. While the International Space Station orbits Earth at an altitude of about 400 kilometers, LightSail 2 orbits at about 720 kilometers. Since fewer spacecraft orbit at LightSail 2’s altitude, there wasn’t enough data on Earth’s atmospheric density to reliably predict how much atmospheric drag would slow down the spacecraft. We now know for certain that the atmosphere at 720 kilometers is dense enough to overcome the thrust imparted by solar sailing.
Who’s ready for the first Electron launch of 2020? Stage tests are complete and Electron will be on the pad at LC-1 soon. More info next week. pic.twitter.com/E8nmrhiWKk
Astra Space (previously named Ventions) is developing a small payload orbital launch system and is competing in the DARPA Launch Challenge, which requires a demonstration of a quick response (30 days) to a request for the launch of a smallsat. While the company refuses to answer press queries, applications for launch and communications licenses provides some info on what they are doing:
The company carried out two suborbital launches from PSCA in 2019 but the rockets appeared to have problems shortly after liftoff. According to the FAA license, this year Astra will attempt three orbital flights from Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska (PSCA) on Kodiak Island. They may also do a flight from the commercial launch facility at Wallops Island but a separate FAA license will be required.
**** Falcon 9 booster (B1049.4) for Starlink 2 launch returns to port:
B1049 looks great!! We are a US disabled veteran run, non-profit video production company whose mission is to bring other disabled US Veterans to witness a launch, experience US Space History and become part of our report. Our nonprofit 501(c)(3) is 100% tax deductible, just go to our webpage www.USLaunchReport.com which is merged with www.VeteransSpaceReport.com and find our Donate button. You can help change the life of a US Veteran. Thank You
2 Up/2 Off: #SpaceX crane crews retract 2 landing legs & detach 2 landing legs from opposite sides 4x launched/landed #Falcon9#Starlink booster yesterday/today and lowered 1st stage horizontal 230pm afternoon onto transporter for shipment back to Cape.1st time mixed legs I think pic.twitter.com/LQHLe0mRmR
[ Update: The group at www.USLaunchReport.com offers a video scenes of the processing for the booster from the Starlink 2 launch:
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** SpaceX Cargo Dragon for CRS-19 mission to the ISS recovered after splashdown:
Dragon after returning to Earth from its four-week stay at the @space_station – SpaceX’s eighth mission with a flight-proven spacecraft pic.twitter.com/PZOTF1VX4R
****** Assembly of propellant tank for pressure testing to destruction. Last week, the primary focus at Boca Chica was completing the assembly of a propellant tank and then pressure testing to destruction. The goal was to determine if techniques for tank construction have improved to the point that the stainless steel tanks are flight worthy.
****** SpaceX Boca Chica – Test Tank (Bopper) and Buildings, Jan 8, 2020 – NASASpaceflight.com
All hands on deck at SpaceX Boca Chica as buildings continue to be completed while the test tank (we’re lovingly calling “Bopper”) undergoes final welding ahead of its transportation. Footage and photos from Mary (@bocachicagal) for NSF.
****** SpaceX Boca Chica – Starship Test Tank transported to Launch Site, Jan.9.2020 – NASASpaceflight.com
SpaceX’s Starship Test Tank “Bopper” was transported to the Boca Chica launch site for a positive pressure test. Footage and photos from Mary (@bocachicagal) for NSF. Mostly muted due to really strong wind noise and timelapsed to get all events in without it being a one hour video.
****** SpaceX Hoppy Poppy Jr Pressure Test To Failure, Jan.10.2020 – LabPadre
01.10.2020 At 5:45 AM the pressure testing to failure on Hoppy Jr at SpaceX Boca Chica, Texas. Video is not the best quality but it gets the picture across. Thanks for watching. All live images are explicitly owned by LabPadre Media. Filmed on location at Pointer Property.
****** SpaceX Boca Chica – Test Tank Before and After Test – Timelapse, Jan.10.2020 – NASASpaceflight.com
At SpaceX’s Boca Chica launch site, the test tank underwent a planned and successful/useful data overpressure test event. Timelapse video show the tank (nicknamed Bopper) before and after the test. Footage and photos from Mary (@bocachicagal) for NSF. Muted due to really strong wind noise and timelapsed to get all events in without it being a one hour video.
**** Comments from Elon Musk on the tank pressure test:
Dome to barrel weld made it to 7.1 bar, which is pretty good as ~6 bar is needed for orbital flight. With more precise parts & better welding conditions, we should reach ~8.5 bar, which is the 1.4 factor of safety needed for crewed flight.
Everything is compressible, but liquid compression at these pressures is not significant. However, the tanks do expand under pressure, creating a bit more volume. Keeping propellant super cold has a big effect on density of ~10% in case of CH4.
Every tank under pressure is a balloon tank — it’s just question of degree. Starship tanks are not balloon tanks like Atlas in sense that they don’t collapse when depressurized on the ground.
Following the successful “pressurization to failure” test on the “Bopper” test tank, SpaceX Boca Chica is busy working on the additional facilities and setting up to build new bulkheads that will be for Starship SN1. Footage and photos from Mary (@bocachicagal) for NSF.
****** SpaceX Boca Chica – Starship SN1 Bulkhead/Rig Transported To Big Tent, Jan.12.2020 – NASASpaceflight.com
The new Big Production Tent at SpaceX’s Boca Chica received the Starship SN1 Bulkhead and Rig after they were transported from the Windbreak building. This will allow for welding ops to be protected from the elements. Footage and photos from Mary (@bocachicagal) for NSF. A lot of timelapsing at 6x and 4x to condense several hours of footage.
**** Florida Starship facility status:
So what is happening out at @SpaceX Coastal Steel, well not much. The place is pretty clean, still a lot of workers during the week. They are doing some fab work maybe for a new VAB at #pad39A Sunday,12 January 2020 pic.twitter.com/aC8Cf5y927
A sampling of links to recent space policy, politics, and government (US and international) related space news and resource items that I found of interest (find previous space policy roundups here):
Tonight we are pleased to welcome Dr. Brian Weeden, Director of Program Planning at the Secure World Foundation, to the WSH. Brian uses his research on space debris, global space situational awareness, space traffic management, protection of space assets, and space governance to guide the Foundation’s future projects. Additionally, Brian organizes national and international workshops to increase awareness of, and facilitate dialogue on, space security, stability, and sustainability topics.