Prebiotic chemistry

thumb|upright=2|Stages in the origin of life process range from the well understood, such as the planetary habitability|habitable Earth and the abiotic synthesis of simple molecules, to the largely unknown, like the derivation of the [[last universal common ancestor (LUCA) with its complex molecular functionalities.]]

thumb |upright=1.3 |Panspermia proposes that organisms such as [[bacteria, complete with their DNA, could be transported by means such as comets through space to planets including Earth.]] Panspermia () is the hypothesis that life exists throughout the universe, distributed by cosmic dust, meteoroids, asteroids, comets, and planetoids, as well as by spacecraft carrying unintended contamination by microorganisms, known as directed panspermia. The theory argues that life did not originate on Earth, but instead evolved somewhere else and seeded life as we know it.

hypothetical phase of the history of life, in which self-replicating RNA proliferated

chemical compound

degree to which a planet is suitable for life, or study of planets which may be so suited

thumb|Neverland Regio, a dark region on Charon's north pole. The region is stained a dark brown by deposits of tholins Tholins (after the Greek ('''') "hazy" or "muddy"; from the ancient Greek word meaning "sepia ink") are a wide variety of organic compounds formed by solar ultraviolet or cosmic ray irradiation of simple carbon-containing compounds such as carbon dioxide (), methane () or ethane (), often in combination with nitrogen () or water (). Tholins are disordered polymer-like materials made of repeating chains of linked subunits and complex combinations of functional groups, typically

A protocell (or protobiont) is a self-organized, membrane-bound or membraneless compartment that concentrates biomolecules, proposed as a rudimentary precursor to cells during the origin of life. A central question in evolution is how simple protocells first arose and how their progeny could diversify, thus enabling the accumulation of novel biological emergences over time (i.e. biological evolution). Although a functional protocell has not yet been achieved in a laboratory setting, the goal to understand the process appears well within reach.

chemical elements or compounds with low boiling points associated with planet’s or moon’s crust or atmosphere

Hemolithin (sometimes confused with the similar space polymer hemoglycin) is a proposed protein containing iron and lithium, of extraterrestrial origin, according to an unpublished preprint. The result has not been published in any peer-reviewed scientific journal. The protein was purportedly found inside two CV3 meteorites, Allende and Acfer-086, by a team of scientists led by Harvard University biochemist Julie McGeoch. The report of the discovery was met with some skepticism and suggestions that the researchers had extrapolated too far from incomplete data.