Session: Origins of Life (Orlic, Pascal, Preto, Ruiz, Pennock)

Francis Crick and Leslie Orgel proposed a radically different theory to explain the origins of life in 1973. They suggested that life on Earth had been intentionally seeded on Earth. This theory of Directed Panspermia was presented as a valid alternative scientific theory which Crick continued to advocate and support until 1981. Crick argued that every step in his theory of directed panspermia was scientifically plausible. He defended his theory in journals, letters, articles and even a book (Life Itself). I argue that directed panspermia was not a joke (as has been argued by others) but rather it was presented as a genuine alternative hypothesis. Furthermore, I argue that other scientists took it as such. Lastly, I seek to place Cick and Orgel's directed panspermia in both the context of concurrent investigations into the origin of life (as well as an interest in extraterrestial inteligence) and Crick's persona.