An evolutionary connection between interstellar ices and IDPs? Clues from mass spectroscopy measurements of laboratory simulations Original Research Article

We present mass spectra of the residual organic matter that results from the ultraviolet photolysis of realistic interstellar ice analogs in the laboratory. The mass spectra show that this residue is a complex mixture of high molecular weight organic molecules, reminiscent of those reported for interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) – asteroidal and cometary dust. This represents a further characterization of the material for which we have already reported amphiphilic properties (). If we assume that the compounds observed are conjugated hydrocarbons, the mass spectra of the organics are consistent with organic compounds of up to 22 carbon atoms. Heating in air at low-pressure up to 1470 K as a simulation of atmospheric entry increases the molecular masses detected by μL2MS, resulting in a spectrum similar to those of the IDPs Florianus, and Aurelian. The results presented here are consistent with the notion that some of the large organic molecules delivered to the Earth on IDPs could have had their origin in low-temperature ice chemistry.