Venus has a hot and hellish surface, but the idea that life might exist in its relatively … There is speculation about life existing in Venus' distant past, as well as questions about the possibility of life in the top cloud layers of Venus' atmosphere, where the temperatures are less extreme. (Courtesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech) Phosphine, which is a gas produced exclusively by microbes on Earth and considered to be a strong signature of life on other worlds, has been detected in the clouds of Venus. Or, unlikely but possible, life could have barely clung to some ecosystems in the Martian soil. Mars is currently dry and desolate, but in the past was warmer and wetter. If rocks from Earth containing microbial life entered Venus’s orbit in the past, this life may have adapted to Venus’s atmospheric conditions. Now the spacecraft makes its journey into the planet’s thick, sulfurous atmosphere. Q: Have there been any past indicators of life on Venus? A fundamental question in exobiology remains the degree to which habitats on Venus, past and present, were, or are suitable for life. Prospects for Life on Venus Fade—but Aren’t Dead Yet. Venus, roughly the same size as Earth, is often called our sister planet. It’s clear that more detailed investigations are needed to verify life on—or above—Venus. It was also caused by an unknown process. If phosphene is a sign of life on Venus, it’s entirely possible it is simply only one form of life. The search for extraterrestrial life has largely focused on Mars, but scientists at MIT, Cardiff University, and elsewhere reported surprising findings in September of what may be signs of life in the clouds of Venus. If rocks from Earth containing microbial life entered Venus’s orbit in the past, this life may have adapted to Venus’s atmospheric conditions. A fundamental question in exobiology remains the degree to which habitats on Venus, past and present, were, or are suitable for life. Greaves, J. S. et al. In recent times, scientists have wondered if simple life might survive in Venus’ unusually cloudy atmosphere. 'As Venus heated up the oceans evaporated and the surface became so hot that any life would have been killed, but any life in the clouds would have survived.' This precious resource was crucial to the evolution of life on Earth. Researchers poring over archives from previous missions to Venus claim that NASA may have first detected phosphine signatures (indicating potential microbial life) back in 1978, and they just went unnoticed for the past 42 years. May 22, 2019. Recommended for you. This will require Herculean undertakings, as any actual upcoming missions to Venus are ideas, with no firm plans in place. But his idea lived on. Astronomers have speculated for decades that high clouds on Venus could offer a home for microbes – floating free of the scorching surface, but still needing to tolerate very high acidity. But today, it's considered inhospitable to life. Life could have evolved on Mars, and we may find the fossil evidence of such life. One should be prudent and adopt a cautious wait-and-see attitude. Past life indicators in synastry can be very supportive and loving, but depending on the nature of the planets involved, you can also block each other and bring hard lessons into each other’s life. Venus also rotates very slowly, taking 243 Earth days to complete a Venusian day. Year 225 Earth days. Pioneer 13 dropped a probe through Venus's clouds 42 years ago. They often indicate karmic debt. People have speculated about life in Venus's atmosphere for decades. After speeding through space for 123 days, NASA’s Pioneer Venus 2 mission finally reaches its destination: Venus. Proposed processes included microorganisms as the absorbers. The new findings suggest that if life ever existed on Venus, either now or in the past, it might actually be present in the air itself. Jonathan O'Callaghan Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes … Another possibility is that life in Venus’s atmosphere (if there is any) came from Earth. Dr Ng: One past indicator of life on Venus was the discovery of an absorption of ultraviolet light in Venus’ atmosphere. A truly alien explanation The third explanation to consider is that a truly alien form of life (life as we don’t know it) could have formed on Venus’s 400 ° C surface and survives there to this day. Grinspoon reacts to the phosphine discovery by saying that it “will force people to take seriously the plausibility of a cloud biosphere on Venus.” If past is prologue, the excitement following the discovery of this malodorous gas will give way to an explanation that doesn’t depend on the presence of life. Shutterstock A truly alien explanation. Even those who are skeptical believe the findings to be intriguing. Cloudy world: a recently-enhanced image of Venus taken by the Mariner 10 spacecraft. Debate continues over a controversial report of phosphine in the planet’s atmosphere, as researchers reanalyze data and find a … Quick Facts Day 243 Earth days. 'Perhaps life originated in the past when Venus was cooler, with liquid water oceans. The detection of phosphine molecules, which consist of hydrogen and phosphorus, could point to this extra-terrestrial ‘aerial’ life. New research sheds light on the possibility of past life on Venus. Then, when intense climate change boiled the oceans away – killing all surface-based life – microbes in the clouds would have become the last outpost for life on Venus. A 1978 NASA mission to Venus may have overlooked some incredible evidence of life in the planet’s atmosphere. Powerful electrical events quickly alter … Radius 3,760 miles | 6,052 kilometers. Sagan died in 1996, in the midst of a criminally long dry spell for NASA Venus exploration. 3 Life on Venus? But the thinking behind life on Venus didn’t disappear completely. It's believed to have had oceans billions of years ago. How would life survive on Venus? But Venus was not a serious contender for life, and least not after we sent probes there. The Vatican’s top man on all things outer space has cautioned against getting too speculative about recent findings from a group of astronomers suggesting there could be life on Venus… If life formed back then, it might have adapted to spread into the clouds. Water is life. In the past, the authors of the new paper pointed out, some researchers have suggested the possibility of life in the planet's uppermost cloud layer. This has relevance for assessing the exobiological potential of extrasolar Venus-like greenhouse planets. So, just in the past year, we’ve had coming out of the European Planetary Sciences Conference last September, the idea that up until as recently as 750 million years ago, Venus may have had water oceans and a habitable environment before something catastrophic took place. Spacecraft Flies Past Venus En Route To Mercury, But Did It Find Signs Of Life In The Atmosphere? Life on Venus | The Landscape, Timed Auction (62 / 100) Artwork Details "My work centres on an exploration of figurative painting, drawing from traditions of fresco and icon painting, and primarily investigating a fragmentary approach to narrative time and space which shifts between historical and contemporary references. High in the toxic atmosphere of the planet Venus, astronomers on Earth have discovered signs of what might be life. While Venus is similar to Earth in size, mass, and … Like I said before, phosphene is produced on earth by organisms that are living in environments that are very poor in oxygen. 2020. References 1. As it heads towards the surface, it sends… This would make sense for Venus obviously because the atmosphere is just so densely composing carbon dioxide. Make sense for Venus obviously because the atmosphere is just so densely composing carbon dioxide very... 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