GOTTINGEN, Germany — Circling Rosetta’s comet continues to pay off for the European Space Agency, with a new study revealing the comet carries ingredients necessary to spark life.

While there is no evidence of living organisms on the comet, which is formally known as 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, it is home to some “building blocks” of life like glycine, an amino acid often found in proteins, and phosphorus, which ESA scientists described as being the “backbone of DNA and RNA.”

The findings, published in the journal Science Advances on Friday, supports the theory that comets were essential to Earth’s formation and the origin of life.

“The multitude of organic molecules already identified by Rosetta, now joined by the exciting confirmation of fundamental ingredients like glycine and phosphorous, confirms our idea that comets have the potential to deliver key molecules for prebiotic chemistry,” said Rosetta project scientist Matt Taylor in a statement. “Demonstrating that comets are reservoirs of primitive material in the solar system and vessels that could have transported these vital ingredients to Earth, is one of the key goals of the Rosetta mission, and we are delighted with this result.”

The Rosetta mission was launched in March 2004 specifically to study 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, with the Rosetta spacecraft arriving at the comet in 2014. During its rendezvous with the comet, researchers said they clearly detected glycine in its atmosphere during October 2014 and March 2015, in addition to several “outbursts” leading up to August 2015. They also identified the presence of phosphorus during the same period.

Researchers said the study demonstrates how important comets were in Earth’s history.

“There is still a lot of uncertainty regarding the chemistry on early Earth and there is of course a huge evolutionary gap to fill between the delivery of these ingredients via cometary impacts and life taking hold,” co-author Hervé Cottin said in a statement. “But the important point is that comets have not really changed in 4.5 billion years: they grant us direct access to some of the ingredients that likely ended up in the prebiotic soup that eventually resulted in the origin of life on Earth.”

The Rosetta mission was originally scheduled to end Dec. 31, 2015, but was extended to last through September 2016.

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