Study: Venus’ atmosphere too dry for life
The uncertainty of science: A new study has found that the amount of water in Venus’ atmosphere is too low to support the possibility of life.
On Earth, Hallsworth said, microorganisms can survive and proliferate in droplets of water in the atmosphere when temperatures allow. However, the findings of the new study, based on data from several Venus probes, leave zero chance of anything living in the clouds of Venus, he said.
“Living systems including microorganisms are composed mainly of water and without being hydrated, they can’t be active and are unable to proliferate,” Hallsworth said.
Studies on microorganisms living in extreme conditions on Earth found that life can exist at temperatures as cold as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 40 degrees Celsius). For water activity, which is measured on the scale from 0 to 1, the lowest survivable value is 0.585. The water activity level found in the molecules in the Venusian clouds was merely 0.004.
NASA Ames astrobiologist Chris McKay, one of the co-authors of the paper, said in the news conference that the findings of the study were conclusive and the new fleet of space missions currently being prepared for Venus will not change anything about the hope for life on Earth’s closest neighbor.
McKay can be as “conclusive” as he wants, but that really isn’t how science works. While this data is very strong evidence that there is no life on Venus, a result that should be expected given its harsh environment, it can’t preclude for certain the possibility. You can’t prove a negative in science.
At the same time, this paper puts another nail in the coffin of that very weak result, since found even weaker, in September 2020 that suggested the presence of phosphine in the atmosphere that suggested the possibility of life.
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The uncertainty of science: A new study has found that the amount of water in Venus’ atmosphere is too low to support the possibility of life.
On Earth, Hallsworth said, microorganisms can survive and proliferate in droplets of water in the atmosphere when temperatures allow. However, the findings of the new study, based on data from several Venus probes, leave zero chance of anything living in the clouds of Venus, he said.
“Living systems including microorganisms are composed mainly of water and without being hydrated, they can’t be active and are unable to proliferate,” Hallsworth said.
Studies on microorganisms living in extreme conditions on Earth found that life can exist at temperatures as cold as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 40 degrees Celsius). For water activity, which is measured on the scale from 0 to 1, the lowest survivable value is 0.585. The water activity level found in the molecules in the Venusian clouds was merely 0.004.
NASA Ames astrobiologist Chris McKay, one of the co-authors of the paper, said in the news conference that the findings of the study were conclusive and the new fleet of space missions currently being prepared for Venus will not change anything about the hope for life on Earth’s closest neighbor.
McKay can be as “conclusive” as he wants, but that really isn’t how science works. While this data is very strong evidence that there is no life on Venus, a result that should be expected given its harsh environment, it can’t preclude for certain the possibility. You can’t prove a negative in science.
At the same time, this paper puts another nail in the coffin of that very weak result, since found even weaker, in September 2020 that suggested the presence of phosphine in the atmosphere that suggested the possibility of life.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
“Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence”
Well, maybe life as we know it. But not necessarily life.
The 800 – 900 degF surface temperature and an atmosphere comprised mostly sulfuric acid probably has nothing to do with it. A Russian lander / probe survived on the surface for about an hour before it ceased transmitting. Just saying …
Tone is always very difficult in Text, but this McKay guy, strikes me as a bit arrogant.
Related–
(–warning; i have NOT watched this all the way through yet, just reviewed the intro. Lex always has good time-stamps. Do what thou wilt.)
“Clara Sousa-Silva: Searching for Signs of Life on Venus and Other Planets”
Lex Fridman Podcast 195 (June 27, 21)
https://youtu.be/CGAvsmokB4c
1:58:11
(OMG,– she’s a “quantum astrochemist at Harvard.” -> co-author of the 2020 paper on phosphine…)
Private mission to Venus in order to find life in the clouds.
“VENUS MISSION CONCEPT STUDY”
Sponsored by the Breakthrough Initiatives
December 10, 2021
https://venuscloudlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/VLFReport_12092021.pdf