'Maximum' progress in extraterrestrial exploration history, traces of life in the atmosphere of Venus

Gas produced by anaerobic microorganisms has been detected on Venus, known as the 'unsuitable environment.' Researchers have made this discovery unexpected, and NASA Administrator said, 'It's the biggest breakthrough in demonstrating extraterrestrial life.'

Announcement About Research on Venus's Chemistry | NASA
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/announcement-about-research-on-venuss-chemistry

Phosphine gas in the cloud decks of Venus | Nature Astronomy
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-020-1174-4

Hints of life on Venus | The Royal Astronomical Society
https://ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/news/hints-life-venus

Scientists Find a Possible Sign of Life on Venus --The Atlantic
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/09/venus-life-phosphine-microbes/616342/

Possible hint of life discovered on Venus | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/phosphine-signature-life-on-venus.html

A gas called ' phosphine ' was detected on Venus in this survey. Phosphine gas also exists on Earth, and many are produced by anaerobic microorganisms and human activities, so scientists do not understand why phosphine gas was born on Venus.

In 2017, researchers were using the James Clerk Maxwell telescope in Hawaii to check Venus for phosphine gas. Since phosphine gas is not naturally generated by planets, the existence of phosphine gas was considered to be the standard for future space development. And, contrary to the researchers' expectations, the first survey showed that phosphine gas may be present on Venus. After that, the existence of phosphine gas on Venus was confirmed using the Atacama Large Millimeter Submillimeter Interferometer .

'It may sound strange, but the most plausible explanation is the existence of life,' said Clara Sousa-Silva of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who participated in the study.

NASA Secretary Jim Bridenstine also posted on Twitter about the discovery of phosphine gas, 'the greatest progress ever made in demonstrating extraterrestrial life.'

Life on Venus? The discovery of phosphine, a byproduct of anaerobic biology, is the most significant development yet in building the case for life off Earth. About 10 years ago NASA discovered microbial life at 120,000ft in Earth's upper atmosphere. It's time to prioritize Venus. Https://t.co/hm8TOEQ9es

— Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) September 14, 2020

So far, phosphine gas has been detected outside of Earth on Jupiter and Saturn, both of which existed in heavy storms. Therefore, researchers tried to reproduce the same situation on Venus using computer simulation, but it seems that although a small amount of phosphine gas was generated, it was not enough to be detected from the earth.

On the other hand, researchers say that the presence of phosphine gas does not necessarily mean that life exists on Venus. It is well known that anaerobic microorganisms produce phosphine gas, but it is also possible that phosphine gas is produced by processes that have not been confirmed on the earth.

'It can be photochemical or geochemical, just as the existence of life is possible.' 'Not enough information. Almost nothing is known about the photochemical properties of the clouds that cover Venus. 'I haven't,' the researcher wrote in the report.

The atmospheric pressure of Venus is extremely high at 92 atm on the surface of the earth, the temperature is also high at about 460 degrees, and it is covered with toxic gas, so Venus cannot be considered as a 'place where life is likely to exist' even in the solar system. , Life exploration has not been done like Mars. However, this time phosphine gas was detected not on the surface of the earth, but in a place as low as 30 degrees above the clouds. Researchers say that detailed modeling data on planetary movements is needed to determine whether phosphine gas is produced by living organisms or has another source.