Venus, an Astrobiology Target

Sanjay S Limaye¹, Rakesh Mogul², Kevin H Baines³, Mark A Bullock⁴, Charles Cockell⁵, James A Cutts³, Diana M Gentry⁶, David H Grinspoon⁷, James W Head⁸, Kandis-Lea Jessup⁹, Vladimir Kompanichenko¹⁰, Yeon Joo Lee¹¹, Richard Mathies¹², Tetyana Milojevic¹³, Rosalyn A Pertzborn¹, Lynn Rothschild⁶, Satoshi Sasaki¹⁴, Dirk Schulze-Makuch^{15

16

17}, David J Smith⁶, Michael J Way¹⁸

Affiliations

¹ Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
² Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, Cal Poly Pomona, Pomona, California, USA.
³ Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA.
⁴ Science and Technology Corp., Hampton, Virginia, USA.
⁵ School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland.
⁶ NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA.
⁷ Planetary Science Institute, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
⁸ Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
⁹ Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
¹⁰ Institute for Complex Analysis of Regional Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Birobidzhan, Russia.
¹¹ Zentrum für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Technical University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
¹² Chemistry Department and Space Sciences Lab, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA.
¹³ Department of Biophysical Chemistry, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
¹⁴ School of Health Sciences, Tokyo University of Technology, Hachioji, Japan.
¹⁵ Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (ZAA), Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
¹⁶ German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), Potsdam, Germany.
¹⁷ Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Stechlin, Germany.
¹⁸ NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, New York, USA.

PMID: 33970019
DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2268

Free article

Venus, an Astrobiology Target

Sanjay S Limaye et al. Astrobiology. 2021 Oct.

Free article

. 2021 Oct;21(10):1163-1185.

doi: 10.1089/ast.2020.2268. Epub 2021 May 7.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
² Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, Cal Poly Pomona, Pomona, California, USA.
³ Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA.
⁴ Science and Technology Corp., Hampton, Virginia, USA.
⁵ School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland.
⁶ NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA.
⁷ Planetary Science Institute, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
⁸ Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
⁹ Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
¹⁰ Institute for Complex Analysis of Regional Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Birobidzhan, Russia.
¹¹ Zentrum für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Technical University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
¹² Chemistry Department and Space Sciences Lab, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA.
¹³ Department of Biophysical Chemistry, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
¹⁴ School of Health Sciences, Tokyo University of Technology, Hachioji, Japan.
¹⁵ Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (ZAA), Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
¹⁶ German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), Potsdam, Germany.
¹⁷ Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Stechlin, Germany.
¹⁸ NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, New York, USA.

PMID: 33970019
DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2268

Abstract

We present a case for the exploration of Venus as an astrobiology target-(1) investigations focused on the likelihood that liquid water existed on the surface in the past, leading to the potential for the origin and evolution of life, (2) investigations into the potential for habitable zones within Venus' present-day clouds and Venus-like exo atmospheres, (3) theoretical investigations into how active aerobiology may impact the radiative energy balance of Venus' clouds and Venus-like atmospheres, and (4) application of these investigative approaches toward better understanding the atmospheric dynamics and habitability of exoplanets. The proximity of Venus to Earth, guidance for exoplanet habitability investigations, and access to the potential cloud habitable layer and surface for prolonged in situ extended measurements together make the planet a very attractive target for near term astrobiological exploration.

Keywords: Extreme environments; Extremophiles; Life in extreme environments; Search for life (biosignatures); Venus.

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Venus, an Astrobiology Target

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Venus, an Astrobiology Target

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