  The study of origins of life on Earth and the search for life on other
planets are closely linked. Prebiotic chemical scenarios can help prioritize
planets as targets for the search for life as we know it and can provide
informative priors to help us assess the likelihood that particular
spectroscopic features are evidence of life. The prerequisites for origins
scenarios themselves predict spectral signatures. The interplay between origins
research and the search for extraterrestrial life must start with lab work
guiding exploratory ventures in the solar system, and the discoveries in the
solar system informing future exoplanet observations and laboratory research.
Subsequent exoplanet research will in turn provide statistical context to
conclusions about the nature and origins of life.
