Alien lifeforms could be 'living in the clouds' above Venus, new study claims
SCIENTISTS believe that there could be potential lifeforms "unlike anything we've seen" living in the clouds above Venus, according to a new study.
Researchers from Cardiff University, MIT, and Cambridge University have found ammonia in clouds hovering above the planet that they think could be produced by alien lifeforms.
On Earth, ammonia (a colorless gas made from hydrogen and nitrogen) is considered residual waste generated by aquatic organisms.
Its presence in Venus’ upper atmosphere, however, has perplexed scientists for some time.
"Ammonia shouldn’t be on Venus,” said study co-author Professor Sara Seager, from MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS).
“It has hydrogen attached to it, and there’s very little hydrogen around. Any gas that doesn’t belong in the context of its environment is automatically suspicious for being made by life," she added.
Researchers say that while Venus itself is too hot to host life forms, the clouds could theoretically be home to alien microbial bacteria.
In the study, scientists illustrated how if ammonia is indeed present, it would neutralize surrounding droplets of sulfuric acid.
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This would, in turn, lower the clouds' pH levels from -11 to zero, and while this is still incredibly acidic, it's a level that lifeforms could tolerate.
While some of the study's researchers believe the origins of Venus' ammonia are biological, some remain skeptical.
Co-author of the study, Dr. William Bains, stated that the chances of life existing on Venus are very small, citing reasons such as lack of water.
“All life that we know of needs water, but if life is there, then neutralizing the acid will make the clouds just a bit more habitable than we thought," Bains said.
"Having said that, if there’s even a small chance there’s life there it will be such an epoch-changing discovery that it’s really worth following up," he added.
Last year, NASA announced plans to launch the missions VERITAS and DAVINCI+ in 2027 and 2029, respectively, to explore Venus' chemical composition, evolution, and geology.
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