There may be life on Venus, claims new research

Science and culture 30 March, 2024 21:32

There may be life on the planet Venus, scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have come to such a conclusion in a study published in the journal Astrobiology. According to them, if there are life forms in the poisonous clouds of Venus, they probably will not be deprived of amino acids, which are vital building blocks for life.

Temperatures on Venus reach several hundred degrees and it is covered in corrosive sulfuric acid, a colorless, carcinogenic liquid that corrodes human teeth and irritates the eyes, nose and throat. As such, a rocky planet is not considered suitable for living organisms. However, scientists suspect that any life that could have arisen in Venus's hellish environment could be found in its noxious clouds, which are colder than the planet's surface and thus could be conducive to some extreme forms of life.

A new laboratory experiment by MIT researchers found that 19 amino acids surprisingly persisted for at least a month in a sulfuric acid solution containing a little water. The concentration of sulfuric acid in this solution is similar to that found in the clouds of Venus. The results showed that sulfuric acid, in general, is not always "hostile" to the organic chemistry that exists on Earth, and suggests that the clouds of Venus may contain at least some of these complex, life-promoting molecules.

"It doesn't mean that life there will be the same as here. In fact, we know it can't be," said MIT astrophysicist and planetary scientist Sarah Seager, co-author of the new study. for":

Earlier last year, Seeger and his colleagues dissolved 20 "biogenic" amino acids (molecules necessary for all life on Earth because of their role in breaking down food, creating energy, building muscle, etc.) in vials of sulfuric acid mixed with water to simulate Venus. environment found in the clouds. Over four weeks, his team analyzed the structure of these amino acids, which included glycine, histidine, and arginine, among others. The molecular "backbone" of 19 of the molecules was found to remain intact despite the highly acidic environment.

"People have this perception that concentrated sulfuric acid is an extremely aggressive solvent that will tear everything to pieces," said study co-author Janusz Petkowski, "but we think that's not necessarily true."

The experiment was terminated after four weeks due to lack of further signs of activity.

"Just showing that that spine remains stable in sulfuric acid doesn't mean there's life on Venus," said Maxwell Seager, an undergraduate student at Massachusetts Polytechnic Institute Worcester who led the study. endangered, then life as we know it would not be likely [on Venus]."

Nine of the 20 amino acids tested were also found in meteorites, which, according to the researchers, suggests that these molecules could also have appeared on Venus as a result of meteorite impacts.

The Venus Life Finder, a privately funded mission to be sent to this planet in January 2025, intends to search for such molecules in the thick clouds of Venus. The mission will send a spacecraft called Photon to Venus, which will fly past Venus and drop a small, single-instrument probe designed to detect organic compounds into the planet's atmosphere. The probe does not have a parachute, and before it falls to the surface and is destroyed, it will send radio data back to Earth to help assess how habitable Venus might be.