Upon an exponential growth of life on earth, supported by a century of oil based energy economy, following a century of its coal-based phase, the world we live in is facing a point of inflection at the threshold of an expo nential decay. It is, in fact, the quest for counteracting its dreaded conse quences that are bound to follow, which half a century ago provided the stimulus for launching the space program. Coal and oil are made out of carbon and hydrogen atoms. Hydrocarbon molecules consisting of these atoms are the essential ingredients of life by providing energy in a remarkably...