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Last year the scientific community was buzzing after a team, led by astronomers from Cardiff University, found the chemical phosphine (PH3) in the planet’s atmosphere. Earth’s atmosphere also contains minute amounts of the chemical which is thought to be produced by life.
This led scientists to the conclusion that the planet might sustain life.
Phosphine is created through a biological process which hints at microbial life on what we once thought was an uninhabitable “hellscape”.
Venus is similar in size to Earth, is painfully hot and dry. With its active volcanoes and toxic atmosphere, the planet that is contrastingly named after the Roman goddess of love looks far from inhabitable.
This exciting discovery in September 2020 has led many scientists to look into the possibility of life on Venus and what exactly that would look like.
READ MORE: Russia and China band together to make it to the moon by 2036
Prof Jane Greaves from Cardiff University, who led the original study in 2020, went on to praise Dr Hallsworth’s findings, however she is still hopeful about life on Venus.
“We spoke about this at some length last year; we know Venus’s atmosphere is extremely desiccated but what we don’t know is how well mixed it is.
“A colleague, Paul Rimmer, has a paper just out showing that some cloud droplets could have a very high water content,” she told BBC News.
With so much uncertainty and so much interest surrounding the planet, Nasa announced two missions that will learn more about the planet. They are set to launch by 2030.
In the beginning of June Nasa unveiled the two missions which have been given £352m ($500m) each to expand our understanding of the planet.
The European Space Agency (Esa) also jumped on the bandwagon and announced its mission to Venus a week after Nasa.
The Esa probe will be observing the planet and is set to leave by the end of this decade.
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