Abiogenesis: Unknown Details of the Origin of Life

Determine the detailed mechanisms, pathways, and conditions of abiogenesis—the process by which life originates from non-living matter—since the specific details of the origin of life remain unknown.

Background

The paper investigates the feasibility of panspermia via planetary dust grains escaping planetary and stellar gravitational fields and traveling through the interstellar medium. In motivating the broader astrobiological context, the authors note that the fundamental issue of how life originates—abiogenesis—remains unresolved.

This unresolved status directly influences parameters in astrobiological modeling, such as the fraction of planets that develop life in the Drake equation, and underpins the uncertainty in evaluating panspermia scenarios. Clarifying the mechanisms of abiogenesis would constrain such parameters and improve assessments of life’s distribution in the galaxy.