A team from MIT has outlined a scientific plan for privately funded missions to detect signs of life in Venus' atmosphere. The first mission could launch as early as 2023.
Months ago, astronomers reported potential phosphine—a possible biosignature—in Venus' atmosphere at 35-50 km altitude, where conditions mimic Earth's. A follow-up study later suggested it was likely sulfur dioxide instead.
A recent Nature article reinforced this, concluding Venusian clouds are inhospitable to known life forms.
Yet, persistent atmospheric anomalies fuel optimism among some experts that microbial life could thrive there.
MIT researchers highlight unexplained features like the "mysterious UV absorber," unusual vertical profiles of O2, SO2, and H2O, plus potential ammonia (NH3) and phosphine (PH3). These decades-old puzzles may stem from biology or novel chemistry, warranting targeted probes.
Their "Venus Life Finder" (VLF) missions build on this: "While speculation about Venusian cloud life spans decades, we can now act with cost-effective, precise missions," states a press release. "VLF will analyze cloud particles, advancing beyond 1980s-era probes amid a space science revolution."
Drawing from experiments, the team posits life in acid-resistant vesicles, ammonia-neutralized sulfuric acid droplets, or sulfuric-acid-tolerant biochemistry unlike Earth's.
Mission 1 launches in 2023 via Rocket Lab's Electron rocket, deploying a 1-kg mini-probe for a 3-minute, 38,000 km/h flyby through Venus' clouds to sample the atmosphere.
The payload: an autofluorescent nephelometer, under development by Cloud Measurement Solutions (New Mexico) and Droplet Measurement Technologies (Colorado). It uses a laser to induce fluorescence in complex molecules, like amino acid tryptophan, revealing organics.
This initial data will inform Mission 2 in 2026: a larger balloon-borne platform for extended cloud experiments.
Success could pave the way for a sample-return mission to Earth.
