Venus gas ‘most significant’ find yet in alien life search —NASA chief

Published September 15, 2020 5:01pm

This artistic impression depicts the planet Venus, where scientists have confirmed the detection of phosphine molecules, a representation of which is shown in the inset. The molecules were detected in the Venusian high clouds in data from the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, in which ESO is a partner. ESO/M. Kornmesser/L. Calcada & NASA/JPL/Caltech via REUTERS

WASHINGTON — NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine on Monday hailed the discovery of phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus, a gas which on Earth can be attributed to living organisms.

"Life on Venus? The discovery of phosphine, a byproduct of anaerobic biology, is the most significant development yet in building the case for life off Earth," he tweeted.

"About 10 years ago NASA discovered microbial life at 120,000ft in Earth's upper atmosphere. It's time to prioritize Venus."

The researchers did not discover actual life forms, but noted that on Earth phosphine is produced by bacteria thriving in oxygen-starved environments. The international scientific team first spotted the phosphine using the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii and confirmed it using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope in Chile. — Agence France-Presse

Tags: nasa, news, venus