ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the path from the primitive molecules of the primeval earth's atmosphere condensed from space, through the random formation of more or less complex organic molecules, using the available energy sources of ultra-violet light, ionizing radiation or atmospheric electrical discharge, through the selective formation of complex organic molecules via autocatalysis, finally, to the information-transmitting molecule which is capable of self-reproduction and variation. In addition, somewhere, either during the course of this chemical evolution, or perhaps succeeding it, a system has been evolved in which the concentration of the reaction materials was retained in a relatively small volume of space, leading to the formation of cellular structures. Man's adventure into space, which is about to begin, is a necessary aspect of evolution and of human evolution, in particular. It is an activity within the capability of this complex organism, man and it must be explored as every other potentially-useful evolutionary possibility has been.
