Life here nothing special.....prebiotic molecules in interstellar space

[Peter Lemkin]

Previously, scientists thought such processes took place in the very tenuous gas between the stars. The new discoveries, however, suggest that the chemical formation sequences for these molecules occurred not in gas, but on the surfaces of ice grains in interstellar space.

So water, even in solid form, is necessary for the chemical formation!

Adele

Yes, apparently, H2O even at VERY low temperatures can be a catalyst for these reactions. Perhaps some of the mineral materials do too, with some help from stellar radiation and interstellar particles and radiation. This theory, called panspermia, has been around a long time and one I've always subscribed to. We are not alone!

Charles, life everywhere is 'unique', but apparently all come from universal [in both senses of that term] sources at the most basic level - likely mostly on comets, meteors and other space wanderers. On most places where there is extra-terrestrial life it has likely not developed the technological stage; many of those who did self-destructed, as we seem prepared to do; some others [I estimated 1,000,000 in the visible universe in my university course on 'Intelligent Life In The Universe'; now believed to be two to three orders of magnitude greater!] had found a way to be technically advanced and not destroy themselves or foul their planet - however the average distance between these are still amazingly large...but maybe we'll get a message, or they will interpret the Ernie Kovaks Show as pre-civilization when that 'message' reaches them.

Ehrenfreund, P., and Charnley, S. B., 2000. Organic molecules in
the interstellar medium, comets and meteorites: a voyage from
dark clouds to the early earth. Annual Review of Astronomy &
Astrophysics, 38, 427483.