Does the presence of porphyrins mean that there is or has been life on the Moon?
Not at all. The 1969 discovery of lunar porphyrins probably says less about the chances for biochemistry there, than about how common their generation may be elsewhere in the universe. In 1978 Simionescu et al. were able to produce porphyrins under laboratory conditions similar to those of primaeval Earth, before the genesis of life. They summarized the results in the journal Origins of Life: “Experiments with gas mixtures intended to simulate the primaeval atmosphere of the Earth yielded many biologically important chemicals. Investigations into the synthesis of porphyrin-like compounds from methane, ammonia and water vapour were carried out by using high frequency discharges. Microanalyses of porphyrins showed that porphyrin-like pigments were formed in this way. The presence of divalent cations in the reaction system increased the yield of porphyrin-like pigments also involving the direct synthesis of their metal complexes. The ready formation of these compounds in abiotic condition
