NASA mulls possible mission to Venus after recent discovery of possible
life
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[September 17, 2020]
By Joey Roulette
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - NASA is considering
approving by next April up to two planetary science missions from four
proposals under review, including one to Venus that scientists involved
in the project said could help determine whether or not that planet
harbors life.
An international research team on Monday described evidence of potential
microbes residing in the harshly acidic Venusian clouds: traces of
phosphine, a gas that on Earth is produced by bacteria inhabiting
oxygen-free environments. It provided strong potential evidence of life
beyond Earth.
The U.S. space agency in February shortlisted four proposed missions
that are now being reviewed by a NASA panel, two of which would involve
robotic probes to Venus. One of those, called DAVINCI+, would send a
probe into the Venusian atmosphere.
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"Davinci is the logical one to choose if you're motivated in part by
wanting to follow this up - because the way to follow this up is to
actually go there and see what's going on in the atmosphere," David
Grinspoon, an astrobiologist working on the DAVINCI+ proposal, told
Reuters on Tuesday.
The three other proposals include: IVO, a mission to Jupiter's
volcanically active moon Io; Trident, a fly-by trek to map Neptune's icy
moon Triton; and VERITAS, the second of the proposed Venus missions that
instead would focus on understanding the planet's geological history.
NASA has said it may choose one or two of the missions.
The search for life elsewhere in the solar system has until now not
focused on Venus. In fact, NASA in July launched a next-generation rover
to look for traces of potential past life on Mars.
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Workers pressure wash the logo of NASA on the Vehicle Assembly
Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida,
U.S., May 19, 2020. REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo
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In light of Monday's findings, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine
said that is "time to prioritize Venus." In a statement, Bridenstine
said the selection process for the new potential missions will be
tough "but I know the process will be fair and unbiased."
Grinspoon, a senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute,
said the selection process should be responsive to recent scientific
discoveries.
"If there was a mission to Triton as a finalist, and then somebody
with a telescope observed, you know, a soccer stadium on Triton,
then arguably yeah, we should send a mission there," Grinspoon said.
(Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by Will Dunham)
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