Dave5

When scientists detected phosphine in Venus’ atmosphere in 2020, it triggered renewed, animated discussions about Venus and its potential habitability. It would be weird if the detection didn’t generate interest since phosphine is a potential biomarker. So people were understandably curious. Unfortunately, further study couldn’t confirm its presence.

But even without phosphine, Venus’ atmosphere is full of chemical intrigue that hints at biological processes. Is it time to send an astrobiology mission to our hellish sister planet?

While the phosphine discussion petered out pretty quickly, there are other, more long-lived indications that Venus’ atmosphere contains chemical anomalies, some of which might relate to life. Some of the atmospheric gases appear to be out of thermodynamic equilibrium, for example. Adding to the complexity, scientists aren’t certain what the composition of large particles in the lower atmosphere is.