Study Finds 5x More Cometary Organics Could Reach Mars Than Early Earth

3 articles · Updated · Universe Today · Oct 28

Cambridge-led research in Scientific Reports concludes ancient comet impacts were unlikely to deliver enough hydrogen cyanide, or HCN, to seed prebiotic chemistry on Earth.
Monte Carlo and impact models found most fragile organics would be destroyed by hypervelocity impacts, atmospheric entry, or breakup before reaching the surface intact.
About the first 500 million years of Earth's history offered only a brief bombardment window, and surviving HCN would then be rapidly diluted in crater lakes below useful concentrations.
Short-period comets were the study's best-case test because they strike more slowly, yet the authors still found only a handful of impacts could have delivered any HCN at all.
Mars emerged as the more favorable target: surviving comet delivery there was modeled at five times Earth's rate because of lower impact speeds and a thinner atmosphere.