From: The Genesis of Life: From Primordial Soup to First Cell
applicationAstrobiology & Planetary Science

Considering the conditions for abiogenesis on Earth, what are the most promising targets for finding life beyond Earth?

Understanding Earth's abiogenesis helps identify environments on other planets or moons that might harbor life. For example, the focus on liquid water, energy sources (like hydrothermal activity), and specific chemical precursors guides missions to places like Mars, Europa, or Enceladus.

Action

Prioritize exploration missions to celestial bodies with evidence of subsurface oceans, volcanic activity, or reducing atmospheres, and develop instruments capable of detecting complex organic molecules or biosignatures.

Read the full exploration
What else is in this exploration
5 evidence blocks3 perspectives6 media resources6 rabbit holes
evidence
Early Earth possessed a reducing atmosphere conducive to abiotic organic synthesis.
evidence
RNA can act as both a carrier of genetic information and a catalyst.
evidence
Amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, can form spontaneously under early Earth conditions.
Sign up to unlock
Continue exploring
The Genesis of Life: From Primordial Soup to First Cell
Evidence, perspectives, rabbit holes, and more