A SPACECRAFT has tried to detect signs of alien life on Venus as it made a quick flyby yesterday evening.
The BepiColombo spacecraft is actually on its way to study Mercury but came within around 10,420 miles to Venus on its journey.
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According to the European Space Agency, this was close enough “for both atmospheric and ionospheric/magnetospheric investigations of the Venus close environment”.
There is a big focus on Venus’s atmosphere at the moment because some scientists think they found phosphine gas in the planet’s clouds.
Phosphine gas on Earth is made by microbes that thrive in oxygen-free environments.
That’s why some researchers believe it could also indicate life on Venus.
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BepiColombo was launched in 2018 by the ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
Its purpose is to conduct planetary research so we can find out more about the planets near us.
A tool on the spacecraft could confirm the presence of phosphine gas in the clouds around Venus.
It can send the data it collects back to Earth.
Even if phosphine is confirmed is doesn’t necessarily confirm life or the kind of life we are familiar with.
Venus is an extremely hot planet with lots of volcanoes on its surface.
A human wouldn’t survive their but scientists are looking for an alien species that might.
Venus facts
Here’s what you need to know…
- Venus is nearly the same size as Earth with a diameter of 12,104 km compared to Earth’s 12,742 km
- Venus is so hot that the surface temperature can reach 471 °C
- It rotates in the opposition direction to most planets, potentially due to an asteroid collision
- The first man-made aircraft landed on Venus in 1996
- Venus is the hottest planet in the Solar System
- It is the second brightest object in the sky at night
Professor Jane Greaves and Dr David Clements describe their discovery of phosphine markers on Venus
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What are your thoughts on the latest Venus mission? Let us know in the comments…
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
