This paper reports on a robotic prebiotic chemist system designed for long-term, autonomous chemical experiments exploring unconstrained multicomponent reactions. The system, equipped with an automatic sensor system, collects mass spectrometry data from over 10 experiments, each with 60 to 150 algorithmically controlled cycles, running continuously for over 4 weeks. The results demonstrate the robot's ability to discover high-complexity molecules from simple precursors and handle vast amounts of data from recursive experiments. This approach is a significant step towards designing new Origin of Life experiments that allow for testable hypotheses about life's emergence from prebiotic chemistry.

Silke Asche, Geoffrey J. T. Cooper, Graham Keenan, Cole Mathis, Leroy Cronin