Not Mars alone, scientists will send a ship to Venus in 2023 to look for signs of life in the planet's clouds
The search for traces of extraterrestrial life (albeit in a primitive form) is one of the most important tasks facing scientists studying both our solar system and deep space. That is why various missions are launched all over the world.
So, as part of the implementation of the next mission, called Venus Life Finder, scientists will send several devices to Venus, the main task which will search for traces of life in the dense acid clouds of the planet, and the first ship with a probe will be sent to the planet as early as 2023.
Why scientists are so interested in Venus
So, if you and I look at Venus, then, at first glance, it will seem to us not a very hospitable place. Indeed, as you know, on its surface the temperature reaches a considerable 464 degrees Celsius (lead at this temperature is already liquid).
But the temperature is not so bad. The atmosphere of Venus is almost entirely composed of carbon dioxide, and the pressure on its surface reaches 92 Earth's atmospheres.
And, it would seem, under such conditions, there can be no talk of any kind of life on the surface. But scientists are not trying to find life on the surface of Venus, and they decided to closely study its atmosphere.
Indeed, it is likely that among the vapors of sulfuric acid at an altitude of 48-60 kilometers from the surface of the planet may so-called "oases" are hidden, in which both temperature and pressure are significantly lower, and may even contain water. In theory, such an environment may be suitable for some microorganisms.
So, studying the Venusian atmosphere, scientists in September 2020 discovered traces of a gas such as phosphine. The thing is that on Earth this gas is produced in the overwhelming majority of cases by anaerobic microbes. Simply put, traces of such a gas in the atmosphere can act as a biological marker and the presence of life on other planets, albeit in a primitive form.
This interested many scientists. And another group of scientists decided to double-check the earlier findings. A few months later, she concluded that it was not phosphine at all that was found in the atmosphere of Venus, but ordinary sulfur dioxide - a common component of the Venusian atmosphere.
And in order to completely remove these differences, it was decided to send special research probes into the atmosphere of Venus.
So in the next ten years, at least three spacecraft will be sent to Venus, and each of the next ones will be equipped depending on the results of the previous mission.
How will they look for signs of life on Venus
And the first stage according to the plan should begin already in May 2023, when the Electron launch vehicle to Venus will the Photon apparatus was delivered, which, having entered the near Venusian orbit, will lower a probe into the planet's atmosphere to study its composition.
This will install an autofluorescence nephelometer on the probe and emit a laser beam as soon as a vapor cloud is detected. And if there are organic or complex molecules in it, the laser will make them glow.
Of course, in this way it is impossible to determine the organic molecule in front of us or not, but the very fact of their detection (or absence) will indicate that there is still a certain substance in the atmosphere that needs to be closely explore.
In addition, the probe will also study the shape of the droplets in the atmosphere. The point is that sulfuric acid will form ideal spheres, and any shape other than a sphere will indicate that there are other liquids in the atmosphere.
Scientists assume that the device will work for only three minutes, but this time should be enough to collect and transmit data to Earth.
The second mission according to the plan is to take place in 2025. Then a device with a balloon on board will be sent to Venus, which should work in the Venusian atmosphere. for about two weeks at an altitude of 52 kilometers, analyzing taken air samples and looking for traces of water pair.
Well, the third mission is scheduled for 2029. It was then that scientists plan to capture part of the atmosphere and deliver it to Earth for further study in laboratories.
Well, we will follow the implementation of this ambitious project.
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