Exploring Possibility of Microbes Living in Clouds of Venus

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In summary, some scientists believe that microbes could live in the clouds of Venus, but it is unknown if they can survive there permanently. If we want to test this theory, we could do it on Earth.
  • #1
lifeonmercury
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I've read a number of articles (including one from Astrobiology at NASA) about the possibility of microbes living in the clouds of Venus.

It seems that scientists believe microbes could survive there if they're not there already. I would like to see some hardy Earth-based bacteria released in those clouds. But how could we ensure that the bacteria would stay in the clouds and not get pushed down to the surface of Venus?
 
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  • #2
lifeonmercury said:
I've read a number of articles (including one from Astrobiology at NASA) about the possibility of microbes living in the clouds of Venus.

It seems that scientists believe microbes could survive there if they're not there already.
I would like to see some hardy Earth-based bacteria released in those clouds. But how could we ensure that the bacteria would stay in the clouds and not get pushed down to the surface of Venus?
WHY ?
 
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  • #3
Titan... Europa... Mars... Moon... Venus...
Will your next thread be about "life on Mercury"? :wink:
 
  • #4
lifeonmercury said:
But how could we ensure that the bacteria would stay in the clouds and not get pushed down to the surface of Venus?
Just to provide some positive input, I would think this would be a major problem. Unless the bacteria literally had the mass of a molecule of gas (or could fly)
 
  • #5
lifeonmercury said:
I would like to see some hardy Earth-based bacteria released in those clouds. But how could we ensure that the bacteria would stay in the clouds and not get pushed down to the surface of Venus?

Just do it in a lab on Earth. It is much cheaper, doesn't violate planetary protection and all conditions can be controlled.
 
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  • #6
Comeback City said:
Titan... Europa... Mars... Moon... Venus...
Will your next thread be about "life on Mercury"? :wink:

There's a website with that name dedicated to seeding Mercury with life. I haven't seen one for the other planets/moons.
 
  • #7
lifeonmercury said:
There's a website with that name dedicated to seeding Mercury with life. I haven't seen one for the other planets/moons.
That stuff is incredibly irresponsible. Every continent on Earth is suffering from 'introduced species' and we run the risk of massing up yet another possibly existing alternative ecosystem.
Humans are sooo arrogant about this sort of thing. They ought not to be allowed out on their own.
 
  • #8
Ok fine. The question I was hoping to get answered is whether bacteria can permanently live in clouds.
 
  • #9
lifeonmercury said:
Ok fine. The question I was hoping to get answered is whether bacteria can permanently live in clouds.
I don't see why not. Dust particles stay aloft, even in the Earth's much less dense atmosphere.
 
  • #10
I'm sure there will be bacteria in the lower parts of the Earths atmosphere.
Just as with other small things like pollen grains, fungus spores, and fine dust they will have got there due to winds.
However they originate from the ground and will settle back down to the ground when wind is absent; they are heavier than the air molecules are.
Although bacteria may be able to exist in the air for a limited amount of time, it is not the environment which they evolved in.
Air does not contain all the necessary elements they need for growth and reproduction, the ground does.
For Earth, that's fine, traveling through the air can be an advantage that helps things like pollen to distribute widely, but the pollen can't do it's job of spreading plant genes until it is back on the ground.
For Venus the chances of there being any ground based life in the first place is extremely low,
 
  • #11
If ejecta from meteorite impacts on Mars can end up on Earth, wouldn't some ejecta from Earth end up reaching other planets ie Mars and Venus? Potentially with viable bacteria? (Worth keeping in mind should evidence of life is found on Mars, that it may have originated here, and not by recent contamination). I don't see how the conditions within Venus atmosphere would allow abiogenesis but if some hypothetical extremophile bacteria reached there they might survive. As suggested above, experiment here on Earth could give a better idea of such survivability.
 
  • #12
Earth has much more gravity and much more atmosphere than Mars.
It would take a collosally big impact to dislodge chunks of the Earth and eject them out of the atmosphere and then out of Earth's gravity well.
Dislodging bits of Mars could happen with a smaller impactor, but it would still need to be at the large end of the scale for asteroids
 
  • #13
rootone said:
Earth has much more gravity and much more atmosphere than Mars.
It would take a collosally big impact to dislodge chunks of the Earth and eject them out of the atmosphere and then out of Earth's gravity well.
Dislodging bits of Mars could happen with a smaller impactor, but it would still need to be at the large end of the scale for asteroids

That would make it a rarer event but not an impossible one. Even a rare event becomes a likely event given the time scales of solar system evolution and evidence of large meteorite impacts. I recall a claim that the first manmade object to be launched into space was a manhole cover from a nuclear weapons test; large meteorites have had energy yields far in excess of those.The survival of life on such fragments would be more problematic - I suppose bacteria are resistant to shockwaves that multicellular life could not survive but the shocks would be extreme. Heat generated from the impact would be a big problem, followed by extremes of heat, cold, vacuum and radiation in space. We still don't know how life began here on Earth or if similar suitable conditions existed on Mars; life arriving from Earth following a major meteorite impact may be a more likely source of life on Mars than a separate abiogenesis. But I don't know and don't insist on it.

As for the clouds of Venus - I'd be more surprised at life there than Mars; just speculation on my part of a possible route for it to get there.
 

1. Can microbes really survive in the harsh environment of Venus' clouds?

It is possible that certain types of microbes, known as extremophiles, may be able to survive in the extreme conditions of Venus' clouds. These microbes have been found in environments on Earth that were previously thought to be uninhabitable, such as deep-sea hydrothermal vents and acidic hot springs.

2. How would these microbes get to Venus' clouds?

There are several ways that microbes could potentially make their way to Venus' clouds. One possibility is through atmospheric transport, where microbes from Earth are carried up into the upper atmosphere and then travel to Venus on air currents. Another possibility is through meteorite impacts, where microbes could be ejected from Earth's surface and transported to Venus.

3. What would these microbes eat in the clouds of Venus?

The clouds of Venus are primarily composed of sulfuric acid, which is not a suitable food source for most organisms. However, there are some extremophiles that are able to use sulfur compounds as an energy source, so it is possible that these microbes could survive by metabolizing the sulfuric acid in the clouds.

4. How would we be able to detect these microbes?

If microbes do exist in the clouds of Venus, they would likely be present in very small numbers. One way to detect them would be through atmospheric sampling using specialized instruments that can analyze the chemical composition of the clouds. Another method could be through microscopic examination of particles collected from the clouds.

5. What implications would the discovery of microbes on Venus have?

The discovery of microbes on Venus would have significant implications for our understanding of the potential for life on other planets. It would also raise questions about the origins of life and the possibility of panspermia, where life is spread between planets through meteorite impacts. Additionally, it could provide insight into the limits of life and the conditions that are necessary for microbial survival.

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