The origin of life on Earth can be traced back to at least 3.5 billion years ago, and,
possibly, to as early as 3.6–4.0 billion years ago. The early onset of abiogenesis
implies that the key life-building blocks have been readily available on the early Earth.
It is commonly believed nowadays that Earth has formed in the inner, warm part of
the solar nebula from the pebbles and planetesimals lacking volatiles, and got a substantial
fraction (if not all) of the surface water and carbon via exogenous delivery by comets and
asteroids. The question remains, however, whether prebiotic organics crucial for abiogenesis
have been also delivered along or have been synthesized in situ from atmospheric and
volcanic gases. In my presentation, I will talk about our current understanding of the cosmic
life-cycle of organic matter, starting from molecular clouds to planet-forming disks and the solar
nebula and, finally, to asteroids and the early Earth.