Organic molecules on comets: Philae's first results from Churi prove surprising

Organic molecules never previously observed in comets, a relatively varied structure on the surface but a fairly homogeneous interior, organic compounds forming agglomerates rather than being dispersed in the ice: these are just some of first results provided by Philae on the surface of comet Churi. This work, carried out as part of ESA's Rosetta mission, involved researchers from the CNRS, Aix-Marseille Université, Université Joseph Fourier, Université Nice Sophia Antipolis, UPEC, UPMC, Université Paris-Sud, Université Toulouse III -- Paul Sabatier and UVSQ, with support from CNES. They are published on July 31, 2015 as part of a set of eight articles in the journal Science. These in situ findings, which contain a wealth of completely new information, reveal several differences in comparison with previous observations of comets and current models.