Can Venus host lifeforms?

"An artist’s impression of the proposed VERVE mission to Venus the answer whether tiny bacterial lifeforms really do exist in the planet’s clouds. Credit: Danielle Futselaar" (ScitechDaily, Unexplained Gases on Venus: Could They Be the Sign of Alien Life?)

"Could microbial life be drifting in the clouds of Venus? With unexplained signs of phosphine and ammonia scientists are developing a bold new space mission to find out." ScitechDaily, Unexplained Gases on Venus: Could They Be the Sign of Alien Life?)

Phosphine in Venus' atmosphere still remains. Researchers found phosphine and ammonia in that planet’s atmosphere. That causes the possibility that there can be lifeforms on Venus’ clouds. That planet’s atmosphere is far different from Earth's. It’s mainly carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. 

That means that the atmosphere is very flat. It turns denser differently from Earth. The density rises lower and faster than Earth's atmosphere. If there are some kind of lifeforms, that means there can be some kind of diatoms or other algae or bacteria that can hover. Using their oxygen bubbles. Carbon dioxide is heavier than nitrogen and oxygen. So, if we fill a bag using air, that bag rises to Venus’s atmosphere. 

In some SciFi novels, astronauts rise to their Venus platforms by filling the bags using air, and that bag raises them to the Venus highlands. That causes an idea that in some planet’s atmosphere could hover medusa-type lifeforms that can create oxygen in their cells. Then those “medusas” can hover in that planet’s atmosphere. Originally, astronomer Carl Sagan introduced the idea of “living balls” that could hide in Jupiter or Saturn’s atmospheres. 

So the high pressure of the Venus surface denies water boiling. And one of the models of lifeforms that can survive in extreme conditions is found near hydrothermal vents deep under the ocean surface. 

Supercritical water that doesn’t boil at extremely high temperatures keeps worms, bacteria, and shrimp alive near hydrothermal vents. Hydrothermal vents, called “black smokers,” maintain ecosystems at the depths of the oceans. 

"Black smoker in the Atlantic Ocean" (Wikipedia, Hydrothermal vent)

The reality is that there are always people who say that lifeforms on planets like Venus are impossible because of their temperature and pressure. Those arguments cause discussions because high pressure increases the water's boiling point. The high pressure causes a situation where there could be lifeforms near black smokers, or officially, hydrothermal vents. Water pressure near those hydrothermal vents that are over 3000 meters below the surface is enormous. That pressure forms supercritical water near those hydrothermal vents.

There are bacteria and some worms near those extremely hot points. Those bacteria, worms, and shrimps can stay alive because of the supercritical water. Because water doesn’t form bubbles, those organisms that require enzyme and protein synthesis in that environment can stay alive. If those same organisms rise to normal air pressure and to that temperature, they will die immediately. 

Because of the boiling water, maybe those things can give hints about the lifeforms that can survive on extreme planets. And then we must consider that those lifeforms are fully adapted to their environment, which can be deadly to us. We and no lifeform that lives on drylands can survive near hydrothermal vents. But those lifeforms cannot survive on Earth either. 

https://scitechdaily.com/unexplained-gases-on-venus-could-they-be-the-sign-of-alien-life/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrothermal_vent

Venus could still be geologically active.

"This artist’s concept of the large Quetzalpetlatl Corona located in Venus’ southern hemisphere depicts active volcanism and a subduction zone, where the foreground crust plunges into the planet’s interior. A new study suggests coronae are the locations of several types of tectonic activity. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Peter Rubin"(ScitechDaily, NASA Just Found New Signs of Life Inside Venus – Geologic Life, That Is)

The thing is that Venus is geologically active is interesting. So-called round clouds and the strange tectonic structure called "coronae" are the things that cause the idea that there can be very hot water vapor or clouds under Venus's surface. If there is water that water must erupt from somewhere. And those coronas are things that can be those places where those hypothetical underground clouds erupt. 

When we think about things Venus is so hot that there cannot be water or ice that makes frost. But elements like tin and lead can also act like water. The temperature on that planet is so high that lead and tin or some alkali metals like lithium or sodium can act like water. The fact is that there is no water or oxygen on Venus and that can make things like lithium exist pure on that planet. There can be metal rivers below the planet's surface. That means those coronas might not have formed from water. 

Venus is a hot planet. The temperature on its surface is over 464 degrees Celsius. There can be lead and tin lakes on that hellish planet. The mountain areas rise higher than Mt. Everest, and the highest mountain on planet Venus Maxwell Montes's temperature is about 380 degrees Celsius, half of the lowlands temperature. The height of that mountain area is over 11 kilometers. 

"New research suggests vast surface features on Venus called coronae continue to be shaped by tectonic processes. Observations of these features from NASA’s Magellan mission include, clockwise from top left, Artemis Corona, Quetzalpetlatl Corona, Bahet Corona, and Fotla Corona. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech" (ScitechDaily, NASA Just Found New Signs of Life Inside Venus – Geologic Life, That Is)

"These illustrations depict various types of tectonic activity thought to persist beneath Venus’ coronae. Lithospheric dripping and subduction are shown at top; below are and two scenarios where hot plume material rises and pushes against the lithosphere, potentially driving volcanism above it. Credit: Anna Gülcher, CC BY-NC" (ScitechDaily, NASA Just Found New Signs of Life Inside Venus – Geologic Life, That Is)

Pressure on those mountains is about 44 atmospheres. Venus's atmosphere is very dense. The surface pressure on that lowlands planet is 95 ber. That is about 93,76 atmosphere. The day of Venus is 275 Earth days. And that describes why Venus is so hot. 

And when researchers talk about life on Venus. There can be silicon-based lifeforms that are like stone vegetables. Or stone bacteria. But there can also be bacteria that hover in Venus's clouds. 

The hypothetical silicon-based lifeforms can be like the DNA-controlled crystals. The crystal can move budding and it can be a series of crystals. When that hypothetical lifeform moves, it just makes a series of crystals and DNA moves inside that channel. 

They talk about the highest mountains, but the most promising place will be Venus's clouds. Some kind of bacteria can hover in those clouds. Because Venus is a very hot planet the silicon-based lifeforms are "living sand" that are crystals that the DNA controls. 

Those lifeforms might be like vegetables rather than animals. They might travel like fungus making crystal lines, or budding. Those budding crystal lines can have channels where the DNA can travel.  But if those DNA-controlled rocks exist that would be a sensation and bring new ideas for nanotechnology. 

https://scitechdaily.com/nasa-just-found-new-signs-of-life-inside-venus-geologic-life-that-is/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell_Montes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus

Lifeforms or not lifeforms that's the question.

 

Phosphine and life signatures are quite different things than an intelligent alien with spacecraft and well-detected cities. That means there can be lifeforms on some ocean planets. But those lifeforms cannot ever communicate with us. The thing is this: The exoplanet K2-18b is the most promising target for life hunters, but that planet is about 124 ly. from Earth. 

That means. We cannot ever be sure if there is some kind of plankton that exists in that planet's oceans. For confirming that thing. We should travel to exoplanet K2-18b. That planet's atmosphere might be hostile to lifeforms. And the only place where those primitive, maybe procaryotic organisms can exist is the ocean. 

So what does that mean? We cannot confirm the possible life forms at least in the distant worlds. There are suspicions about lifeforms also on some moons in our solar system. The fact is that those lifeforms that can exist in Europa, Triton, and Enceladus or hover in gas giants atmosphere might have a very slow metabolism. 

Astronomer Carl Sagan introduced an idea about hovering medusas on Jupiter and Saturn. And probably Neptune and Uranus's atmosphere. The idea of the lifeforms in the icy moon's ocean is based on the idea that the low gravity and low pressure allow the ocean to stay liquid in low temperatures. If there are some organisms their metabolism will be very slow. Those organisms might use even years to travel meters. Those creatures can be the ice crystals that the DNA controls. Those lifeforms can exist at very low temperatures. 

When we think about things like lifeforms in Venus we must remember that Venus is far from Earth. Its atmosphere is carbon dioxide or monoxide. If you jump out from an airplane at Venus you will not fall as on Earth. You will burn when you are too close to Venus's surface where the temperature is about 600C. 

A dense atmosphere slows speed differently than Earth's atmosphere. Venus's atmosphere is flatter than Earth's. Venus's mountains like Maxwell Montes are not very friendly places for lifeforms. The temperature in those mountains is about 380C. 

The bacteria-type lifeforms can hover at the higher level of Venus's atmosphere above its clouds. There the temperature is much lower than on Venus's surface. 

Sometimes there have been plans to make some stations in the Maxwell Montes area. There the pressure and temperature are more comfortable than on Venus's lowlands. But if we find bacteria from Venus's atmosphere there is the possibility that those bacteria traveled from Earth to that planet hiding in the probes that were not properly sterilized. Another thing is that in some cases phosphine can be the remnant of the bacteria that might died when some probe like Venera hit Venus's atmosphere. 

If those probes were not sterilized they could leave the trail of the living bacteria behind them. And if those bacteria died in the space journey their remnants could leave phosphine signs in Venus's atmosphere. But for making good decisions researchers require those organisms. 

And 600C can destroy any bacteria remnants in that planet's atmosphere. It destroys the DNA that there is no evidence of the bacteria especially if they traveled from Earth.  So maybe the only thing that we can find on Venus is phosphine. That phosphine can form in cells that can be gone or turned into ash a long time ago. 

https://www.universetoday.com/articles/fresh-findings-fuel-debate-about-life-on-alien-world

https://www.space.com/venus-clouds-phosphine-evidence-debate

There is no trace of phosphine in Venus's atmosphere.

Sofia-telescope found no evidence of life on Venus. And there is no phosphine in that planet's atmosphere. So that thing means that Venus is dead. 

But the question is why the first telescope saw phosphine in the Venu's clouds and then that phosphine is gone. The wrong calibration might be the problem. But how telescope couldn't detect that the source of phosphine is in Earth's atmosphere? There was not very much phosphine in Venus. 

Image Sofia-telescope

So maybe the reason for that trace was some chemical reaction where some volcano released phosphorous into Venus's atmosphere. And then things like lightning caused a reaction where carbon monoxide reacted with phosphorous. 

There is a possibility that the lightning destroyed CO or CO^2 molecules. And then phosphorous could interact with hydrogen forming PH3. So there are no lifeforms in Venus's clouds. 

https://scitechdaily.com/sofia-finds-no-phosphine-a-potential-sign-of-life-on-venus/

https://www.universetoday.com/110007/budget-2015-flying-sofia-telescope-to-be-shelved-for-higher-priority-programs-like-cassini/

"Researchers have uncovered evidence that vast phytoplankton blooms may be lurking beneath Antarctic ice." (ScitechDaily.com/Hidden Ecosystems? NASA’s New Evidence of Vast Life Lurking Beneath Antarctic Ice)

Antarctica is the perfect place for researching isolated ecosystems. 

There is the possibility that hidden ecosystems are lurking inside Antarctica's ice. 

But a search for extraterrestrial lifeforms continues. And Antarctica offers a good place to research the closed ecosystems. When researchers are collecting data from the lakes deep inside the Antarctic ice. 

Also from the ice itself, they can make models of what kind of lifeforms could live in some distant water moon's ocean. Antarctica is also a large freezer. And there can be found the remnants of the first organisms on Earth. 

The thing is that Antarctica is one of the most isolated and sterile areas in the world. There are unique species in those lakes that are not anywhere else. And those organisms can give information about the closed and cold ecosystems. 

Antarctica is hostile to almost all lifeforms that we know. But deep inside ice is lifeforms that don't need sunlight or straight contact with sunlight. Those organisms hunt for organisms that have contact with sunlight. And in that model, the tiniest and most producing organisms are living near the ice's surface. After that the other organisms. That is higher in the food chain are deeper under the ice.

The big question about those closed ecosystems is this. Does the nutrient fall to those lakes through the ice? Or are those lake ecosystems closed? In the last case, all nutrients surround the icy lake. That kind of ecosystem gets its energy from the black smokers or volcanic heat. That kind of ecosystem is always interesting. 

https://scitechdaily.com/hidden-ecosystems-nasas-new-evidence-of-vast-life-lurking-beneath-antarctic-ice/

The ESA:s EnVision will be the next Venus mission.

Image 1)EnVision aerobraking in Venus atmosphere. Credit: ESA/ Paris Observatory / VR2Planets / Damia Bouic (ScitechDAily.com/EnVision Mission: Readying Spacecraft To Surf Venus’ Hot, Thick Atmosphere)

The EnVision program by the ESA (European Space Agency) is the project to map Venus and research its surface using radars. The special thing about this mission is that the van-size space probe would lay very low altitude and surf in Venus' thick atmosphere for a couple of years.

The EnVision would use to test things like aerobrake. The aerobrake is the method where the friction of the atmosphere is used to slow the craft's speed. That thing will save lots of fuel. And surfing in that planet's atmosphere makes it possible to take samples from the high atmosphere. 

Image 2:) "Artist impression of ESA’s EnVision mission". Credit: ESA/VR2Planets/Damia Bouic (ScitechDaily.com/EnVision Mission: Readying Spacecraft To Surf Venus’ Hot, Thick Atmosphere

And the craft can also map surfaces and chemical compounds of the atmosphere and the planet's high mountain areas by using lasers and radars. The EnVision opens the road to a long-wing sailplane or airship that can fly in Venus's atmosphere. And maybe in the future, that kind of laboratory will fly in the atmosphere of Venus and gas giants. 

So EnVision is a very interesting project. Maybe this project answers the question. Are there some very primitive microbes hovering in the clouds of that planet? There is the possibility that there are some primitive microbes that can use the temperature of Venus' atmosphere as an energy source. 

Images and other sources: https://scitechdaily.com/envision-mission-readying-spacecraft-to-surf-venus-hot-thick-atmosphere/

Writings about the strange dark area in the clouds of Venus, communication with Lunar probe and orange mineral on the Moon

Writings about the strange dark area in the clouds of Venus, communication with Lunar probe and orange mineral on the Moon

1) Two theories about the mysterious dark area in clouds of Venus

A) Could those dark area caused by some primitive bacteria?

In some images has been seen the strange dark areas in the clouds of Venus. That dark area form is given many theories, and one of them is that there is still bacteria in the clouds of that planet. In those theories, those bacteria are so primitive, that they would not have own mitochondria, and they would take the energy what they need from the Venus atmospheres high temperature.

So those hypothetical primitive bacteria would be like the first organs what were living near the volcanic eruption holes on Earth, before the cells connected with mitochondria. And in some theories, those proto-nucleus cells could live also in other planets. At the beginning of the Cambrian period, the cells needed volcanic heat for getting energy for their metabolism, and until the rickettsia called mitochondria advanced, and connected to those cells, the life could start to suffuse to oceans.

B) Could some kind of radio waves, what is coming from Earth cause the mysterious dark area?

There are other theories about the forming of that area, and that thing is that those areas are forming because of the radio-radiation what comes from Earth causes chemical reactions in the clouds. The radio signals would come from the extremely powerful radars or radiotelescopes what are metering the winds and geological processes of the Venus.

Every radiotelescope can also transmit radio waves and those systems are used for mapping the surface of other planets. Those VLF-radars sees geological structures, what are below the surface of other planets like Venus and Mars. Those radio transmitters are installed to the radio telescopes like VLA, and they can also be used for searching the promising areas for the landing of space probes.

The explanation has been given in the article below the whirlwind of the atmosphere of Venus, but the thing is that if the radar signal hits the cloud, it would start the rise of energy in that point. That will warm the atmosphere, and cause the rising wind. But if we would face the primitive lifeforms on that planet, it would revolutionize the science.

https://www.space.com/6188-study-explains-dark-spots-venus.html


2) Communicating with probe what is behind the Moon.

There is a theoretically simple way to communicate with probe what is behind the Moon by using another lander. That lander would use seismic waves to communicate with the probe, what the straight radio signals cannot reach. The thing is that even if there is no atmosphere on the Moon the stone itself conducts voice as the seismic shocks, like every other stone in the world.

So those seismic shocks, what would send by the resonator could be used to communicate with the probe, what is another side of the moon. And if the Moon conducts electricity, the radio signals can be sent through that particle by using high power radio signals, what are send through the Moon. But that needs very high power radio transmitter, and also the frequency must be right, that the high power radio signal would travel through basalt without disturbs.

If we want to communicate with spacecraft, what is landed behind the Moon we could use two ways to communicate with that probe. Another way is to use the communication satellite, which orbits the Moon and records the mission what is sent to the orbiter, and then releases that data, when it passes the probe. And in that case, the memory of that probe would be sent to a communication satellite.

Or there would be other communication satellite behind the Moon at Lagrange point L-2 where the stable satellite would be anchored, and then the data would send to the orbiting satellite, what orbits so-called "saint trajectory", what means that it would orbit in the polaric trajectory of Moon like it always sees Earth. That allows the communication between the probe by sending the data first to the orbiting satellite, and that satellite would transfer the data via the stable satellite to the probe.

3) Strange orange mineral on the Moon

Chinese rover, what travels behind the Moon has faced the small impact crater, where is the orange mineral, what looks like some kind of make-up. That origin orange mineral is a mystery. The thing is that that mineral, what has founded from Apollo 17 mission (or at least the image in the source has been taken in Apollo 17 mission), is interesting because of the findings of those minerals are found in the small impact craters.

There is a question that does it suck the meteors to it. Or as Apollo 17 astronauts suspected, the form of the mineral caused by the volcanic eruption? Or is there some other origin? When we are thinking about some kind of antenna or something like that like lightweight space probes, destroying those sites would be easy by shooting them by using a high-power air rifle, what is loaded by stones.

In this case in the chamber would burn or explode the hydrogen and oxygen. And after that the stone, what would be the chalk, what is used at the schools, would hit the target. But who would use that kind of things, and what could be the destroyer things. This is the big question, and that's why this kind of things would be really interesting.

https://www.space.com/china-far-side-moon-rover-strange-substance.html