Formation of Amino Acid Precursors with Large Molecular Weight in Molecular Clouds and THeir Delivery to Earth

Abstract

In order to simulate the formation of interstellar organic compounds, a frozen mixture of methanol, ammonia and water was irradiated with high-energy heavy ions from the HIMAC accelerator. The products were mixtures of complex molecules with large molecular weights, which gave amino acids after acid-hydrolysis. Such complex amino acid precursors could have been delivered to the primitive Earth in the form of cosmic dusts. We are planning to capture cosmic dusts on the Exposure Facility of the Japanese Experimental Module (JEM) of the International Space Station.