2024-03-25 14:25:49
The amino acids necessary for life are surprisingly stable in the sulfuric acid clouds of our “sister” Earth.
Although Venus is a harsh place, there is a chance that some forms of life could develop there. A new MIT study has found that important molecules are stable in the highly concentrated sulfuric acid that makes up the clouds of Venus. reports New Atlas.
Venus is a dry, hot planet with surface temperatures of up to 464°C—hot enough to melt lead. The air pressure on the planet is equivalent to a depth of 900 m underwater. The icing on the cake is clouds of sulfuric acid and an atmosphere consisting of 96% carbon dioxide.
Conditions are thought to be more favorable between 48 and 60 km above Venus’s surface, where temperatures and pressures drop and there is more water around. Interestingly, it was at this altitude that strange dark spots were seen drifting through the Venusian clouds, with optical signatures suspiciously similar to bacterial species here on Earth.
But there is a serious problem that life may face in this air oasis – clouds of sulfuric acid. Previous research has suggested that they may be protected by other particles in the air. However, new research has shown that microbes may not even need protection and can float freely in sulfuric acid.
The MIT team placed all 20 “biogenic” amino acids—chemicals that are essential for life—in vials of sulfuric acid at concentrations of 81-98%. These are levels corresponding to the clouds on Venus. Surprisingly, 19 of them were stable even at the highest concentrations, and their molecular “backbone” remained intact. This continued throughout the four weeks of the study.
Amino acids are not the only ingredients of life that have proven to be resistant to sulfuric acid. The team previously showed that some fatty and nucleic acids exhibit similar stability. But the ability of these components to survive there does not indicate their presence. The researchers also acknowledge that the actual chemistry of Venus’s atmosphere is, of course, much more complex than their laboratory model.
Most studies tend to believe that Venus is a lifeless planet. In 2020, astronomers announced the discovery of a rare chemical, phosphine, which on Earth is primarily produced by anaerobic microbes, in the atmosphere of Venus. However, it was later discovered that this signature was most likely ordinary sulfur dioxide. Other studies point to a lack of water and a lack of expected biosignatures on the planet.
The upcoming Venus Life Finder mission will send a spacecraft to probe acidic clouds for signs of life. The launch is scheduled for the end of 2024.
Earlier, astronomers from the German Aerospace Center studying the atmosphere of Venus directly detected signs of atomic oxygen in daylight. He hung above the toxic clouds of the planet.
Ekaterina Sadkova
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