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Understanding the origin of life on Earth and the search for life elsewhere in the universe are among the major challenges facing modern science.

Answering the question of the origin of life on Earth—and its possible existence on other celestial bodies—has been a dream for philosophers and thinkers of past centuries. Today, it has become a genuine scientific question that can be addressed thanks to recent advances in several fields. Space exploration has generated considerable interest in the question of the current and past habitability of celestial bodies in the Solar System. New discoveries of exoplanets have revolutionized our understanding of the possibility of life beyond our Solar System.

The Issues

The Origin of Life project focuses on understanding the “pre-life” chemical processes on Earth, defining the conditions for habitability on celestial bodies in the Solar System and on exoplanets, and identifying celestial bodies where we will be able to test for the presence of life in the near future. These themes place Earth in its proper context (as one habitable celestial body among many), explore our origins as living beings, and shape our perspective on our planet.

Interdisciplinarity

The question of the origin of life is a research topic that naturally lies at the intersection of many disciplines, including chemistry, biology, planetary science, astrophysics, geology, and paleontology. Grenoble is home to a large community of researchers in these fields who are working together to make major scientific advances in understanding the emergence of life on Earth and the search for life elsewhere.

The site's structure...

IDEX funding will help the Origin of Life project community coalesce around key interdisciplinary themes. Our teams are at the forefront of several thematic areas and are now ready to tackle new challenges together that require interdisciplinary collaboration. The goal of this funding is to enable Grenoble to become a leading center in this field at the European level and to serve as a springboard for the future.

... and its international visibility

The Origin of Life project will enable Grenoble to serve as a key hub within a national, European, and even global strategy. It will strengthen our position in major international projects dedicated to the search for life. This project is part of a global ambition (a top priority for most space agencies worldwide) and is ideally structured to lead, participate in, or operate major instruments for exploring habitability and the search for life, such as ALMA/ESO, JWST/NASA, SPIRou/CFHT, ExTrA, TESS/NASA, CHEOPS/ESA, JUICE/ESA, ExoMars/ESA, MARS2020/NASA, etc.

The development of our research community through IDEX funding makes the Grenoble hub a key player in the field of the origin of life. The project’s results will ensure strong international academic visibility.

The topic of the origin of life on Earth and its detection on other celestial bodies has very high visibility among the general public, as it addresses a fundamental question for a large portion of humanity. The results of this project will be partially covered by the press or featured in science outreach centers, ensuring high visibility among the general public.