The silicate Earth contains Pt-group elements in roughly chondritic relative ratios, but with absolute concentrations <1% chondrite. This veneer implies addition of chondrite-like material with 0.3-0.7% mass of the Earth's mantle or an equivalent planet-wide thickness of 5-20 km. The veneer thickness, 200-300 m, within the lunar crust and mantle is much less. One hypothesis is that the terrestrial veneer arrived after the moon-forming impact within a few large asteroids that happened to miss the smaller Moon. Alternatively, most of terrestrial veneer came from the core of the moon-forming impactor, Theia. The Moon then likely contains iron from Theia's core. Mass balances lend plausibility. The lunar core mass is approximate to 1.6 x 10(21) kg and the excess FeO component in the lunar mantle is 1.3-3.5 x 10(21) kg as Fe, totaling 3-5 x 10(21) kg or a few percent of Theia's core. This mass is comparable to the excess Fe of 2.3-10 x 10(21) kg in the Earth's mantle inferred from the veneer component. Chemically in this hypothesis, Fe metal from Theia's core entered the Moon-forming disk. H2O and Fe2O3 in the disk oxidized part of the Fe, leaving the lunar mantle near a Fe-FeO buffer. The remaining iron metal condensed, gathered Pt-group elements eventually into the lunar core. The silicate Moon is strongly depleted in Pt-group elements. In contrast, the Earth's mantle contained excess oxidants, H2O and Fe2O3, which quantitatively oxidized the admixed Fe from Theia's core, retaining Pt-group elements. In this hypothesis, asteroid impacts were relatively benign with approximate to 1 terrestrial event that left only thermophile survivors.

The question whether life originated on Earth or elsewhere in the solar system has no obvious answer, since Earth was sterilized by the Moon-forming impact and possibly also during the LHB, about 700 Ma after the formation of the solar system. Seeding by lithopanspermia has to be considered. Possible sources of life include Earth itself, Mars, Venus (if it had a more benign climate than today) and icy bodies of the solar system. The first step of lithopanspermia is the ejection of fragments of the surface into space, which requires achieving at least escape velocity. As the velocity distribution of impact ejecta falls off steeply, attention is drawn to bodies with lower escape velocities. Ceres has had, or still has, an ocean more than 100 km deep, with hydrothermal activity at its rocky core. The possible presence of life, its relative closeness to the terrestrial planets and Ceres' low escape velocity of 510 m/s suggest that Ceres could well be a parent body for life in the solar system. Icy impact ejecta - hence glaciopanspermia - from Ceres will be subject to evaporation of volatiles. Spores may be loosened by evaporation and enter the atmospheres of the terrestrial planets as micrometeorites. The seeding of the terrestrial planets from Ceres would result in (1) detection of life in the crustal layers of Ceres; (2) a commonality of Cerean life with Terran and possible Martian and Venusian life and (3) biomarkers of Cerean life, which might be found in the ice at the Moon's poles and on the surface of other main belt asteroids. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.