Phosphine in Venus’ clouds could be biosignature of life, rekindling idea of floating city – Daily Express

The extraordinary possibility of living organisms swimming through the dense Venusian atmosphere has been enhanced after scientists detected tantalising levels of phosphine gas, which is a bio-signature for life. A scientific paper published on September 14 entitled "Phosphine on Venus Cannot be Explained by Conventional Processes" described the discovery of a chemical marker of life in the atmosphere of Venus. The opening lines of the paper stated: "The recent candidate detection of 20 ppb of phosphine in the middle atmosphere of Venus is so unexpected that it requires an exhaustive search for explanations of its origin."

The paper seductively added that no ordinary "phosphine production pathways are sufficient to explain the presence of ppb phosphine levels on Venus".

Speaking toExpress.co.uk, Dr Sousa-Silva of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) said: "We do know of one way that phosphine could be produced in the clouds, and that is life.

"Of course, that is an extraordinary claim, and as such requires extraordinary evidence, which we dont have.

"But until we understand Venus better, it is the only explanation left."

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Both these explanations only exacerbate Venus' "phosphine puzzle" that the recent findings have presented.

MIT's Dr Clara Sousa-Silva said the detection of phosphine on the planet was a reason to expend more effort in researching the planet's anomalies.

She added: "Venus has been woefully overlooked in the past decades, but I dont think rectifying that should come at the expense of investigating Mars; a fascinating planet with countless untold secrets.

"I do find the Venusian clouds a more interesting target for habitability than Mars, but that is primarily a personal opinion."

However, Dr Sousa-Silva added that she was not in favour of a floating colony on Venus, saying "we could try to build a cloud city on Venus, but I dont recommend it".

At a certain altitude within the Venusian atmosphere, the temperatures and pressures are sympathetic to human life, albeit without the oxygen.

This has led scientists to propose floating cities in the planet's clouds.

The concept would see human habitats buoyed by huge helium-filled balloons floating 30 miles high above Venus' hell-like surface.

NASA has drawn up plans for such an idea, called the High Altitude Venus Operational Concept.

One advantage that a Venus colony would have over one on Mars is that the planet's clouds would also shield humans from the dangers of space-based radiation.

Also, the gravity on Venus is nearly as strong as that on Earth, meaning very little muscle and bone deterioration for colonists.

But, astronauts would never be able to say they made landfall on the planet, as the surface is hot enough to melt lead.

The study into phosphine gas on the Venusian clouds did receive one update in November 2020.

The data was reprocessed and the phosphine levels adjusted to one-seventh of their original estimate.

However, the discovery is still significant and a mystery.

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Phosphine in Venus' clouds could be biosignature of life, rekindling idea of floating city - Daily Express