The possible existence surrounding aliens in the distant nooks of space has been perplexing humans for several years. Even though conspiracy theorists strongly believe that extraterrestrial existence is true, the scientific community, until now, has not succeeded in proving their presence.
And now, a private mission to Venus will search for alien life in the clouds filled with sulfuric acid on the planet.
Even though Venus is blistering hot, some space experts believe that there could be possible alien existence in the clouds of the planet.
According to a report published in Space.com, the new private mission will search for signs of life in its clouds by attempting to detect evidence of organic chemistry.
The report added that the upcoming mission is planned for launch in January 2025 aboard Rocket Lab's Electron rocket, an entrepreneurial launch vehicle provider.
"We're trying to look into the possibility that sulfuric acid droplets could host a biochemistry, not our personal biochemistry, but a different biochemistry. We have a lot of lab experiments ongoing and some are coming to fruition," Sara Seager, professor of planetary sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who is the principal investigator for the Venus Life Finder told Space.com.
In 2023, under the leadership of Seager, a paper titled 'Stability of nucleic acid bases in concentrated sulfuric acid: Implications for the habitability of Venus' clouds' was published.
According to this study report, Venusian clouds are composed of concentrated sulfuric acid, which is considered not suitable for life, as per conditions on earth.
However, Seager and her research partners have found that key molecules needed for life (nucleic acid bases) are stable in concentrated sulfuric acid, a strong indication that the atmosphere on Venus could hold complex organic molecules capable of helping alien beings to strive and survive.
"We do not know if the origin of life in concentrated sulfuric acid is possible, but such a possibility cannot be excluded a priori. Life could use concentrated sulfuric acid as a solvent instead of water and could have originated in the cloud droplets in liquid concentrated sulfuric acid," according to the paper.
It added: "Our findings show that complex organic chemistry, including DNA nucleic acid bases, can be stable in concentrated sulfuric acid."
