• NASA’s Dawn mission has found evidence of organic material on Ceres.

About Ceres:

• Ceres is a dwarf planet and the largest body in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Findings:

• Scientists discovered the material in and around a northern-hemisphere crater called Ernutet.
• Organic molecules are novel to scientists because they are necessary, though not sufficient components of life on Earth.
• The discovery makes it to the growing list of bodies in the solar system where organics have been found.
• Organic compounds have been found in certain meteorites. They have also been inferred from telescopic observations of several asteroids.
• Ceres shares many commonalities with meteorites rich in water and organics – in particular, a meteorite group referred to as carbonaceous chondrites.
• This discovery further strengthens the connection between Ceres, these meteorites and their parent bodies.
• This is the first clear detection of organic molecules from orbit on a main belt body.
• Data supports the idea that organic materials are native to Ceres.
• The carbonates and clays previously identified on Ceres provide evidence for chemical activity in the presence of water and heat.
• This raises the chance that the organics were similarly processed in a warm water-rich environment.
• The organics discovery makes an addition to Ceres’ attributes associated with ingredients and conditions for life in the distant past.
• Earlier studies have found hydrated minerals, carbonates, water ice, and ammoniated clays that must have been altered by water.
• Salts and sodium carbonate, such as those found in the bright areas of Occator Crater, are also thought to have been carried to the surface by liquid.
• This discovery adds to scientific understanding of the possible origins of water and organics on Earth.
• The organic materials on Ceres are mainly located in an area covering approximately 1,000 square kilometres.
• There are other smaller organic-rich areas several kilometres west and east of the crater.
• Organics were also found in a very small area in Inamahari Crater, about 400 kilometres away from Ernutet.
• Having completed nearly two years of observations in orbit at Ceres, Dawn is now in a highly elliptical orbit at Ceres, going from an altitude of 7,520 kilometres up to nearly 9,350 kilometres.
• It will create a new altitude of around 20,000 kilometres, about the height of GPS satellites above Earth, and to a different orbital plane.
• This will put Dawn in a position to study Ceres in a new geometry.
• As time advances, Dawn will view Ceres with the sun directly behind the spacecraft, such that Ceres will appear brighter than before, and perhaps reveal more clues about its nature.