Alien life forms could be living in the icy clouds on Venus, claimed a research report, pointing out dark patches present in the clouds of the planet, which they interpret as microbial living forms.
During the study, researchers have compared data collected by various space probes to Venus to come up with the finding that the dark patches on Venus' clouds may be due to the light absorbing properties of bacteria. Some models also suggested that Venus once had a habitable climate with liquid water on its surface for as long as two billion years, and it is much longer than what is believed to have occurred on Mars.
"Our comparative analyses support the blended hypotheses that terrestrial-type biology can survive within and contribute to the spectral signatures of Venus' clouds. To test the ideas presented here, we propose the need for an integrated chemical, biochemical, and microbiological study focusing on the survival and spectroscopy of terrestrial microorganisms under Venus' cloud conditions," said the research team.
Planetary scientist Sanjay Limaye of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, putting forward a case for the atmosphere of Venus as a possible niche for extraterrestrial microbial life, said: "Looking forward, investigations into the actual habitability of Venus' clouds would ideally benefit from a mixture of an orbiter, lander, airplane/balloons, and sample return missions."
The team of researchers also added that further investigations and sampling should be carried out on Venus' clouds to confirm the presence of extraterrestrial life there, reviving an old idea that promises a new vista in the hunt for life beyond Earth -- on the clouds of Venus.
Hitherto, researchers have focused on Mars, with its subsurface liquid water, as a sure prerequisite for life. Some scientists have also been studying Saturn's moons Titan and Enceladus as well as Jupiter's moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto as possible havens for life in the oceans under their icy crusts. Now Limaye and his team are dusting off a similar idea to find life forms on Venus.
David J Smith of NASA's Ames Research Center revealed that certain earthly bacterias survived harsh conditions at altitudes as high as 41 kilometers, and such microbial forms may survive and live in Venus' clouds too.
The new report was released just days after Barry DiGregorio, an astrobiologist and an honorary research fellow at the University of Buckingham claimed to have found the evidence of alien living forms on Mars. The scientist revealed that he has found alien footprints on Mars, and alleged that NASA is silent.
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