Prebiotic chemistry in planetary environments

Abstract

The formation of reactive org. compds., such as HCN or HCHO, followed by their evolution in soln. is one of the earliest steps in chem. evolution which might have led to the emergence of life on the Earth. Such orgs. are key ingredients of the prebiotic chem., since, in the presence of liq. water, they can give rise to the building blocks of living systems. Similar processes are going on in present planetary environments, esp. on Titan, but in the absence of liq. water. With a dense reduced atm. mainly composed of N2 and CH4, rich in org. compds. in the gas and aerosol phases, and with the likely presence of an ocean of liq. methane and ethane, this moon appears as a natural lab. for studying prebiotic org. chem. at a planetary scale. on SciFinder (R)