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The planet Venus
Image: Reuters
Scientists discovered phosphine on Venus, a gas that could indicate living organisms. This is not yet proof that life exists on the planets. But according to the head of NASA, it’s time to keep looking there as a priority.
reThe US space agency NASA sees the discovery of fospingas on Venus as the biggest advance to date in the search for possible extraterrestrial life. The discovery of this gas, which is associated with living organisms, is “the most significant development to date in the search for evidence of life outside of Earth,” NASA chief Jim Bridenstine wrote on Monday in the service. short message Twitter.
Bridenstine noted that ten years ago, NASA discovered microbial life forms about 12,000 kilometers above Earth in our planet’s upper atmosphere. But now is the time to “prioritize Venus” in the search for extraterrestrial life.
A research team had previously reported in the journal “Nature Astronomy” that they had discovered traces of phosphine in the cloud cover of Venus. On land, flammable gas often comes from organic sources. Scientists had explored the clouds over Venus with telescopes found in Hawaii and the Atacama Desert in Chile. However, they emphasized that the discovery of phosphine gas was not yet proof that life actually existed on Venus.
Until now, conditions on Venus have been considered less conducive to the existence of life. Temperatures on the planet can reach 500 degrees Celsius. The atmosphere of Venus is made up almost entirely of carbon dioxide and therefore creates a strong greenhouse effect.
