Sep 16, 2013 10:22 AM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Amino acids, organic compounds vital to building life, are produced when a comet collides with a planet, according to a new study.

The research team discovered amino acids are produced when an icy comet collides with a planet and also when a rocky meteorite hits an icy planet. The team consisted of researchers from Imperial College London (ICL), the University of Kent (UK) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL).

The researchers theorized this is how Earth received its spark that ignited life during a time about 3.8 to 4.5 billion years ago when the planet was blitzed with comets and meteorites.

"Our work shows that the basic building blocks of life can be assembled anywhere in the Solar System and perhaps beyond," co-author Dr. Zita Martins, of ICL's Earth Science and Engineering department, said in a press release. "However, the catch is that these building blocks need the right conditions in order for life to flourish."

With this knowledge and data, scientists can now better research what makes these conditions.

"Excitingly, our study widens the scope for where these important ingredients may be formed in the Solar System and adds another piece to the puzzle of how life on our planet took root," Martins said.

UK's Dr. Mark Price, another co-author of the study, said the study has laid groundwork for future research.

"This process demonstrates a very simple mechanism whereby we can go from a mix of simple molecules, such as water and carbon-dioxide ice, to a more complicated molecule, such as an amino acid," he said.

With the multitude of ice on Saturn's Enceladus moon and Jupiter's Europa moon, conditions are ideal for research. The scientists said those two surfaces are perfect for the production of amino acids should a meteor or comet crash into it. The study could impact future space missions to these moons.

The team recreated an impact using a gun to fire projectiles into icy mixtures. The projectiles were given similar traits to comets and meteorites and produced amino acids such as glycine and D- and L-alanine.

The initial impact caused a shock wave that produced molecules necessary to forming amino acids and the heat of the crash transformed the molecules into amino acids.

"This is the first step towards life," Price said. "The next step is to work out how to go from an amino acid to even more complex molecules such as proteins."

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