20 



With the establishment of the U.S. space program in 1958, a 

 dedicated effort in space biology began to emerge. In an authorita- 

 tive document, the Space Science Board of the National Academy of 

 Sciences declared that the search for extraterrestrial life was a prime 

 goal of space biology. "It is not since Darwin and, before him, 

 Copernicus, that science has had the opportunity for so great an 

 impact on the understanding of man. The scientific question at stake 

 in exobiology is the most exciting, challenging, and profound issue 

 not only of the century but of the whole naturalistic movement that 

 has characterized the history of Western thought for over 300 years. 

 If there is life on Mars, and if we can demonstrate its independent 

 origin, then we shall have a heartening answer to the question of 

 improbability and uniqueness in the origin of life. Arising twice in a 

 single planetary system, it must surely occur abundantly elsewhere 

 in the staggering number of comparable planetary systems." 



In 1963, the second conference on the Origin of Life was held 

 at Wakulla Springs, Florida, under the sponsorship of the National 

 Aeronautics and Space Administration. Much progress had been 

 made since 1957. Many of the molecules of biological significance 

 had been synthesized. The pathways for their chemical origin had 

 been outlined, the conditions of reaction well defined, and the ana- 

 lytical techniques developed to a high degree of refinement. 



By now, primarily with well-planned support from the Space 

 Sciences Division of the National Aeronautics and Space Administra- 

 tion, several laboratories across the world were engaged in sophisti- 

 cated experimental programs related to the origin of life and to life 

 beyond the Earth. Papers on the subject appeared in journals as 

 diverse in discipline as microbiology and astrophysics. The landing 

 of a man on the Moon and the availability of lunar samples for analy- 

 sis intensified the geochemical aspects of the program. 



The year 1970 appeared a most appropriate time to organize 

 the Third International Conference on the Origin of Life. This 

 meeting was held at Pont-a-Mousson, France, about 250 km east of 

 Paris. Over 150 researchers from several countries around the world 

 were present. At this meeting was also born the International Society 

 for the Study of the Origin of Life, with Alexander Oparin as its first 

 president. 



