4/17/2021 0 Comments Venus In Two Acts
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.The US 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. The three other proposals include: IVO, a mission to Jupiters volcanically active moon Io; Trident, a fly-by trek to map Neptunes icy moon Triton; and VERITAS, the second of the proposed Venus missions that instead would focus on understanding the planets geological history. NASA in July launched a next-generation rover to look for traces of potential past life on Mars. In light of Mondays findings, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said that it 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.
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