The Pathway to Prebiotic Chemistry: molecular precursors from space

Prebiotic experiments in the laboratory have suggested that the chemistry that allowed the emergence of life could have started from relatively simple molecular precursors, species with only a handful of atoms. Since our Solar System was formed from a molecular cloud in the interstellar medium, an obvious question naturally arises: could the chemistry that occurs in space have a fundamental contribution for triggering prebiotic chemistry here on Earth, or elsewhere in the Galaxy? To answer this question we need first to know the limits of interstellar chemical complexity. In this talk I will present the most recent results of our query of new species with astrobiological interest in space, combining ultra-sensitive unbiased spectral surveys and spectroscopic studies in the lab. I will show our findings towards the molecular cloud G+0.693-0.027 located in the Galactic Center, where we have detected more than 20 new molecular species in the last years containing all five key elements for life (C, H, O, N, S and P). Among others, we have identified the first glycine isomer detected in space, glycolamide (NH2COCH2OH); key precursors of RNA nucleotides such as hydroxylamine (NH2OH) or 1,2-ethenediol ((CHOH)2); and precursors of lipids, such as ethanolamine (NH2CH2CH2OH) and propanol (CH3CH2CH2OH); and also new interstellar species with phosphorus such as the cation PO+.