The Potential for Life Next Door: The Morning Star Missions to Venus Join The Explorers Club on September 16th for a look at an upcoming series of missions exploring the potential for life on one of our closest planetary neighbors. Our sister planet Venus is right next door—and a provocative idea has recently returned to the scientific spotlight: Venus might be habitable, not on its scorching surface, but in the much cooler cloud layer 48 to 60 km above the planet. The concept is that Venus’ perpetual cloud cover might host simple single-celled life, as Earth’s clouds do. Venus’ clouds, however, are not made of water. They are droplets of concentrated sulfuric acid, an extraordinarily harsh chemical environment that is lethal to Earth life. In novel laboratory studies, Professor Sara Seager’s team has found that a growing number of key biomolecules are stable in concentrated sulfuric acid—leading to the outlandish idea that sulfuric acid could serve as a replacement for water. Life on Venus could use molecules slightly different from those used by Earth life, while drawing on the same basic chemical building blocks delivered by meteorites. Professor Seager will highlight current discoveries, emerging technologies, and the innovative Morning Star Missions to Venus, designed to find out whether life exists beyond our own planet. In-person tickets are $20 for Members, and $35 for the General Public. Check-in will begin at 6:00 pm, with a beer and wine reception from 6:00 – 7:00 pm Click here to learn more.
General Admission, Member Discount, Student Discount