According to a recent study, the sulfuric acid-rich upper atmosphere of Venus may be habitable. The study investigates how amino acids, the building blocks of life, could survive in the sulfuric acid.
While the harsh conditions on the surface of Venus make life as we know it almost impossible, it’s possible that life could survive in the Venusian atmosphere. The lower atmosphere contains toxic clouds of sulfuric acid, but conditions are much less deadly at higher levels.
Researchers have found that key molecules needed for life (nucleic acid bases) are stable in concentrated sulfuric acid. This suggests that the Venus atmosphere environment may be able to support complex chemicals needed for life.
The concentration of sulfuric acid in the “haze layer” (0-30 km above the surface) is about 35.68 metric tons per cubic kilometer.
That’s Not a Problem for Life. A recent study published in Astrobiology investigates the potential habitability in the clouds of Venus, specifically how amino acids, which are the building blocks of life, could survive in the sulfuric acid-rich upper atmosphere of Venus
Venus’ atmosphere is made up of:
- 96.5%: Carbon dioxide
- 3.5%: Nitrogen
- 1%: Other gases, including sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, water vapor, helium, argon, and neon Venus’ atmosphere also contains trace amounts of other gases, including:
- Hydrogen chloride (HCl)
- Hydrogen fluoride (HF)
- OCS
- H2O
- HBr The Sun’s photochemical action on carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and water vapor produces sulfuric acid in the upper atmosphere of Venus. In the cooler parts of the atmosphere, sulfuric acid exists as a liquid.
Venus’ atmosphere contains sulfuric acid (H2SO4). The clouds of Venus are made up of concentrated sulfuric acid droplets. The sulfur in the clouds gives Venus its yellowish color
The clouds of Venus have a caustic pH level of -1.5. This means that any organisms on Venus would need to be polyextremophiles, meaning they can thrive in multiple extremes.
The sulfuric acid clouds trap heat, causing a runaway greenhouse effect. Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system, even though Mercury is closer to the Sun
Yes, Venus’ atmosphere is corrosive. The atmosphere is hot enough to melt lead and is toxic to humans. It’s also almost 100 times denser than Earth’s atmosphere.
The atmosphere’s high pressure and heat cause the carbon dioxide to behave corrosively. The atmosphere also contains a small amount of sulfur dioxide, which reacts with water to create sulfuric acid
Venus is not currently habitable. The surface of Venus is inhospitable for life, with temperatures that are two times hotter than an oven and an atmosphere that is 90 times the pressure of Earth’s. The surface temperature averages around 465°C (870°F), hotter than the surface of Mercury.
However, there is a spot about 50-60 km above the surface where the temperature is a comfortable 300 Kelvin (27 C or 80 F), and the pressure is a tolerable 50% of Earth’s sea level pressure. However, this level is right in the middle of the sulfuric acid cloud deck.
Recent studies have proposed that the early planet may have had liquid water and reflective clouds that could have sustained habitable conditions.
To make Venus habitable, the surface temperature would need to be around 0 to 35 degrees and the atmospheric pressure similar to that on Earth.
Here are some other things that would need to happen:
- Reduce the surface temperature
- Eliminate most of the planet’s dense carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide atmosphere
- Add breathable oxygen to the atmosphere
- Build a giant sunshade to block most of the Sun’s rays from hitting the planet To survive on Venus, you would also need:
- Insulating or cooling habitats
- A way to produce breathable air and potable water
- Air purification systems to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen Venus is within the Sun’s “Goldilocks zone” and may have been habitable before Earth. However, most astronomers feel that it would be impossible for life to exist on Venus today.
Here are some ways to change the atmosphere of Venus:
- Thin the atmosphere This could be done by a combination of methods, but directly lifting atmospheric gas into space would be difficult.
- Introduce hydrogen This could be done along with an iron aerosol catalyst to turn the carbon dioxide into water vapor and carbon.
- Build an orbital shade This would require immense amounts of metal and advanced materials to build a structure large enough to cool Venus’ atmosphere.
- Import water Venus has next to no water, so we would need to import enough water to make oceans or import hydrogen to make water. To terraform Venus, we would need to:
- Reduce the atmospheric pressure from 92 atm to 1 atm
- Convert the 96.5% CO2 / 3.5% N2 atmosphere to Earth like 78% N2 / 21% O2 Some say that terraforming could be completed in under 200 years. However, others say that it would take centuries.
Venus could be cooled by placing reflective balloons in the upper atmosphere to create shade. However, the shade would need to be made up of thousands or millions of smaller shades, and it would take decades to complete. As the shade nears completion, the surface of Venus would begin to cool.
Venus is hot because of its thick CO2 atmosphere. To cool Venus, you would need to get rid of 99% of its atmosphere. However, Venus would not begin to cool down until after most of the carbon dioxide has already been removed
Atmospheric or surface-basedVenus could also be cooled by placing reflectors in the atmosphere. Reflective balloons floating in the upper atmosphere could create shade. The number and/or size of the balloons would necessarily be great
Venus’s upper atmosphere may have a habitable region, but it’s not habitable for humans without special equipment
Venus’s clouds are made of concentrated sulfuric acid, which is an aggressive solvent that’s thought to quickly destroy most biochemicals of life on Earth. However, a 2021 study found that the water content of Venusian sulfuric acid cloud droplets is two orders of magnitude below the known limit for life. A 2023 study also found that nucleic acid bases could survive in concentrated sulfuric acid
Some say that there’s a habitable region about 50–60 km above the surface of Venus. This region has a temperature of 300 Kelvin (27°C or 80°F) and a pressure of 50% of Earth’s sea level pressure. However, this region is also in the middle of the sulfuric acid cloud deck, so you’d need to wear a teflon raincoat, gloves, and goggles
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