What impact does the history of a planetary system have on the emergence and evolution of life? The researchers of Connector 2 focus on the hazards, but also discuss and explore scenarios of unexpected locations for life that have only recently come under investigation.
The scientists will experimentally probe how complex molecules formed under various forms of irradiation, typical for young planetary systems. Research in this connector joins astrophysical observations and tailored theoretical models of extrasolar planets with laboratory biophysical and chemistry experiments. This will allow us to track fate of life's building blocks from the infant stages of planet formation, through the assembly of icy grains into pebbles in the protoplanetary disc, to mature planetary systems and their moons.
