The conditions, timing, and setting for the origin of life on Earth and whether life exists elsewhere in our solar system and beyond represent some of the most fundamental scientific questions of our time. Although the bombardment of planets and satellites by asteroids and comets has long been viewed as a destructive process that would have presented a barrier to the emergence of life and frustrated or extinguished life, we provide a comprehensive synthesis of data and observations on the beneficial role of impacts in a wide range of prebiotic and biological processes. In the context of previously proposed environments for the origin of life on Earth, we discuss how meteorite impacts can generate both subaerial and submarine hydrothermal vents, abundant hydrothermal–sedimentary settings, and impact analogues for volcanic pumice rafts and splash pools. Impact events can also deliver and/or generate many of the necessary chemical ingredients for life and catalytic substrates such as clays as well. The role that impact cratering plays in fracturing planetary crusts and its effects on deep subsurface habitats for life are also discussed. In summary, we propose that meteorite impact events are a fundamental geobiological process in planetary evolution that played an important role in the origin of life on Earth. We conclude with the recommendation that impact craters should be considered prime sites in the search for evidence of past life on Mars. Furthermore, unlike other geological processes such as volcanism or plate tectonics, impact cratering is ubiquitous on planetary bodies throughout the Universe and is independent of size, composition, and distance from the host star. Impact events thus provide a mechanism with the potential to generate habitable planets, moons, and asteroids throughout the Solar System and beyond.

中文翻译：

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陨石撞击在生命起源中的作用。

地球生命起源的条件，时间和环境，以及我们的太阳系内外是否存在生命，这代表了我们这个时代最基本的科学问题。尽管长期以来一直将小行星和彗星轰击行星和卫星视为破坏性过程，这将为生命的出现和沮丧或灭绝的生命提供障碍，但我们提供了有关数据和观测资料的全面综合资料，影响广泛的益生元和生物过程。在先前提出的地球生命起源环境的背景下，我们讨论了陨石撞击如何产生海底和海底热液喷口，丰富的热液沉积环境，和火山浮石筏和飞溅池的冲击类似物。冲击事件还可以传递和/或生成许多生命和催化底物（例如粘土）所需的化学成分。还讨论了陨石坑在行星地壳破裂中的作用及其对深层地下生命栖息地的影响。总而言之，我们认为陨石撞击事件是行星演化中的基本地球生物学过程，在地球生命起源中起着重要作用。我们的建议是，在寻找火星前世的证据时，应将撞击坑作为主要地点。此外，与火山岩或板块构造等其他地质过程不同，撞击坑在整个宇宙的行星体中无处不在，并且与大小无关，组成，以及与宿星的距离。因此，撞击事件提供了一种在整个太阳系内外产生可居住的行星，卫星和小行星的潜力的机制。