title: Life on Mars?  I.  The chemical environment.
abstract: The origin of life at its abiotic evolutionary stage, requires a combination of constituents and environmental conditions that enable the synthesis of complex replicating macromolecules from simpler monomeric molecules.  It is very likely that the early stages of this evolutionary process have been spontaneous, rapid and widespread on the surface of the primitive Earth, resulting in the formation of quite sophisticated living organisms within less than a billion years.  To what extent did such conditions prevail on Mars?  Two companion-papers (Life on Mars? I and II) will review and discuss the available information related to the chemical, physical and environmental conditions on Mars and assess it from the perspective of potential exobiological evolution.
authors.affiliation: The Hebrew University, Rehovot, Israel.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Banin
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Mancinelli
mesh_terms: D018534:Earth, Planet; D004602:Elements; D019418:Evolution, Chemical; D018559:Exobiology; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D018535:Mars; D000069497:Origin of Life; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis*; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D004602:Elements; D012987:Soil; D014867:Water