Venus is among the last planets in the Solar System where scientists would look for extraterrestrial life because of its inhospitable conditions. But that seems to be changing. The latest discovery of phosphine gas on the clouds of Venus serves as a reminder that we are sorely lacking in our understanding of alien life, leave alone our planetary neighbour.
Phosphine is a toxic gas made up of one phosphorus and three hydrogen atoms (PH3). On Earth, it is commonly produced by organic life forms. The gas is found in the guts of some animals and in oxygen-poor enviornments such as swamps, where certain kinds of microbes survive. Then, could such microbes live on Venus? We have a long way to go before finding an answer to this question.
It is to be understood that detection of phosphine does not mean we have found microbial life on Venus, because phosphine gas can result from a number of processes that are unrelated to life such as lightning, meteor impacts and volcanic activity. But scientists ruled these options out, citing these activities are far too weak to produce the abundance of phosphine – around 20 parts per billion – that has been found in the Venusian cloud.
So scientists are left with two options:
- There may be an unknown chemical process driving the synthesis of phosphine on Venus.
- Life may exist on Venus but in ways we don’t understand. Maybe life doesn’t need Earth-like conditions. Maybe it could survive on scorching-hot Venus-like planets.
Studying Venus up close is a challenge; as space probes sent previously could not survive even two hours of its blistering temperature. Solving the mystery of life on Venus could take years, if not decades.
Picture Credit : Google
