Amino acid precursors in lunar samples.

The use of hot water to extract lunar samples, followed by the hydrolysis of the aqueous extract, appears to be the method of choice for identification and quantitation of amino acid precursors in extraterrestrial sources. The net inferences from the analyses to date are (1) that amino acid precursors are verifiably present in lunar dust, and (2) that they are quite certainly not the consequence of contamination by terrestrial organisms, including man. It is suggested that prebiotic evolutionary pathways such as have been traversed on the earth were terminated on the moon for lack of sufficient water. Although some or all of the amino acid precursors may be indigenous, the low level observed suggests that they may also result from onfall of organic compounds from interstellar matter, comets, tails, solar wind, or meteorites.