The Origins of Life
Scientists have found gas filled buckyballs embedded in 4.6-billion-year-old meteorites. These rare space gases are similar to gases, which were present when the solar system was first forming. If buckyballs have truly come from another planet, then it could mean they have the durability to survive the trip through the universe. This finding supports the theory that atmospheric gases and organic compounds arrived on Earth during asteroid and comet strikes, early in the planet's history when impacts were numerous. Scientists have found buckyballs in large amounts embedded in several meteorites. They hypothesize that the key ingredients for life on earth were made from these gases. If this is true it can lead to further speculations that we are not alone in the universe.