Could life have originated elsewhere?

Could life have started somewhere else and come to Earth? Let’s imagine you're playing with building blocks, big ones, like the ones in a toy box. Now picture Earth as just one of those big blocks, floating out in space.

Earth isn't the only place that has water, air, or rocks, other planets and moons have them too! Scientists think life might have started on another planet, like a neighbor block to Earth. Maybe it was a little bumpier or had more sunshine.

Sometimes, big rocks from space, like the ones in your toy box, can zoom through space and crash into Earth. These are called asteroids. If life started on one of those other blocks and some tiny pieces of that life got stuck to an asteroid, it could have traveled all the way here, just like a little spaceship!

So maybe life didn’t start here, it came from somewhere else in the big toy box of space!