The School of Chemistry and Alumni Cell, University of Hyderabad (UoH) organized a Distinguished Alumni Lecture by Dr. Murthy S. Gudipati, Senior Research Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory titled “Connecting Comets to the Origin of Life on Earth: ESA/NASA Rosetta Mission” on April 25, 2025.
With a strong background in planetary science and laboratory astrophysics, Dr. Gudipati is known for his research on planetary ices, radiation chemistry, and the evolution of organic molecules in space.
He began the lecture by sharing his deep-rooted curiosity about fundamental questions that continue to intrigue humanity: “How, why, and when did life begin?” and “What happened after the Big Bang?” This sense of wonder and scientific inquiry has been the foundation of his work for more than 2 decades. Dr. Gudipati guided the audience through a fascinating journey linking cosmic phenomena to the origin of life on Earth. He focused on comets as ancient messengers, carrying within them the building blocks of life that may have been delivered to Earth during its formative years.
Dr. Gudipati shared his team’s laboratory experiments that simulate cometary environments, showing how basic molecules exposed to radiation and freezing conditions can form more complex organic compounds. He spoke in detail about the European Space Agency’s Rosetta Mission, which orbited and landed on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. The mission provided critical data confirming the presence of organic molecules on a comet—strong evidence supporting the idea that comets could have brought life’s building blocks to Earth.
The lecture emphasised the interdisciplinary nature of studies on the origin of lifeweaving together astrophysics, chemistry, biology, and planetary science. The insights provided by Dr. Gudipati’s lecture reinforce the idea that life’s beginnings on Earth may be intricately connected to the cosmos, making every comet a potential messenger from our past.
