The search for life on planets other than our own has long attracted the attention of scientists. But most of their efforts have failed to say with certainty whether life really exists outside of Earth. From the Moon to Mars, scientists have launched many probes and missions to uncover the mysteries. Venus, one of the most hospitable planets in the solar system, also intrigued them. Venus has an atmosphere filled with carbon dioxide and a surface hot enough to melt lead, which makes it nearly impossible to protect life as we know it.
However, researchers at Cardiff University in Wales made a splash last year when they discovered phosphine source in the atmosphere of Venus. They claim the colorless and odorless gas, which occurs naturally from the decay of organic matter on Earth, could be a sign of life on our neighboring planet. But this hypothesis has been questioned by others, who say that the planet’s clouds are coating Venus in sulfuric acid droplets that could ignite a hole in human skin.
However, Venus remains the most reliable candidate for harboring life beyond Earth. A new study by MIT scientists is now speak that these clouds could be the home of life. Research claims that sulfuric acid on the planet can be neutralized by the presence of ammonia in its atmosphere. Scientists have repeatedly observed anomalies in the atmosphere of Venus. The most puzzling of these was the presence of ammonia, a gas that was slated to be discovered in the 1970s but for unknown reasons to exist there.
MIT scientists say ammonia has the ability to create chemical reactions that could turn the clouds on Venus into a hospitable place. The researchers wrote in a paper published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In conclusion, they say, “life can create its own environment on Venus.”
While these findings are exciting, they can only be confirmed if a probe is sent to Venus. Fortunately, NASA and ESA We plan to do so in the coming years.
