Simulations of Prebiotic Chemistry under Post-Impact Conditions on Titan

Full text: Miller's famous experiment in 1953, in which amino acids under simulated early Earth conditions were produced, was a huge leap forward in our understanding the origin of life. Our research reproduced it, but using Titan-like conditions. Specifically, we simulated conditions after an asteroid strike in the subpolar regions of Titan that exhibit vast methane-ethane lakes. If the asteroid or comet was of sufficient size, it would also puncture the icy crust and bring up some of the subsurface liquid ammonia-water mixture. Here we report on the resulting amino acids found in our reaction set-up. (author)