The project | CDP Origin of life - Université Grenoble Alpes

Explore life on Earth, and beyond ?

The question of the origin of life on Earth, and its possible presence around other stars, has been a dream for philosophers andthinkers from past centuries. Yet it is now becoming a real scientific issue that can be addressed thanks to recent progresses inseveral scientific fields. Space exploration has generated considerable interest for the question of current and past habitabilityof the solar system’s planetary bodies. The discoveries of thousands of new exoplanets have in parallel revolutionized our ideasabout the possibilities for life beyond our solar system.

The Origin of Life project aims to understand the chemical processes ”before life” on Earth: to define habitability conditions for both solar system planets and exoplanets, and to detect the few most favorable exoplanets to test for presence of life in a near future. These focuses will allow us to place Earth into context (as a habitable planet among others), to explore our origins as living beings, and to take a fresh look at our planet.

The project is organized around 3 main themes

The origins of life on Earth

The origin of life on Earth poses very exciting challenges. Undoubtedly, life is the result of a complex process that started 4.5 Gy ago, and, perhaps, even earlier, with the formation of the Solar System.

The concept of habitability outside the Earth

Can the concept of habitability be extended beyond Earth ? We would like to explore the range of planets or moon considered to be potentially habitable.

The search for life in the universe

Detecting life beyond Earth is a long-held ambition that only very recently ceased to be purely speculative and started to become a full-fledged research area.