It took a cosmic impact to bring life to Earth

"This makes it clear that life-friendliness is anything but a given in the universe," said study author Klaus Mezger, according to a press release issued by the University of Bern on Thursday. Only a later collision with a water-rich celestial body brought the elements necessary for the emergence of life to Earth, the researchers assume.

In the study published in the journal "Science Advances", the Bernese researchers showed for the first time that the chemical composition of the early Earth was complete no later than three million years after the formation of the solar system. The research team used a combination of isotope and element data from meteorites and terrestrial rock to reconstruct the process of the Earth's formation.

"Surprisingly fast"

The solar system formed around 4568 million years ago. "Considering that it only took up to 3 million years to determine the chemical properties of the Earth, this is surprisingly fast," said Pascal Kruttasch, first author of the study.

According to current knowledge, life on Earth only emerged around 700 to 1000 million years later. According to the researchers, the proto-Earth was a dry, hostile rocky planet after the first three million years.

The scientists conclude that the substances necessary for life, such as water and carbon, were not formed in a continuous process, but were brought to Earth from outside.