Is it possible that amino acids exist on Venus?
We know that Venus’ clouds are filled with droplets of concentrated sulfuric acid. Can microorganisms survive in that environment? Scientists are still debating this issue, but some believe it is possible. January 9, 2024, scientists from the United States, United Kingdom, and Poland Said In new research biological amino acids – the essential protein building blocks of life’s genetic code – can indeed remain stable at such high concentrations of sulfuric acid. And it suggests what would happen if microbes on Venus used sulfuric acid in their biochemistry, just as life on Earth uses water.
Researchers’ new peer reviewed paper, be published in diary astrobiologyteeth Available as preprint arXiv (January 9, 2024).
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Alien biochemistry?
Is that…? Possible Could alien life forms use liquids other than water to support their biochemistry? Even sulfuric acid?
Science writer Leonard David I have written Space.com talks about the interesting implications of this idea. He quoted co-authors of the new paper: Janusz Petkowski he asked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. same question as this:
Searching for signs of life beyond Earth is a motivation for modern planetary exploration, but life on other planets does not have to have the same biochemistry as life on Earth. Life needs some kind of liquid medium to function, but does it always have to be water?
Therefore, it is important to understand the fundamental chemistry that occurs in such potential life alternative solvents and assess whether complex organic chemistry is formed within them and whether they are stable and soluble. Although water is the predominant liquid on Earth, other liquid solvents also exist in the solar system.
Does this actually apply to acidic environments such as Venus’ clouds? Petkowski added:
If so, of course such life would be fundamentally different from life on Earth.
surely. As it turns out, water droplets in Venus’ clouds at altitudes of about 30 to 40 miles (48 to 64 km) contain 81% to 98% sulfuric acid. Only a small percentage of the remaining water actually becomes water. Indeed, it would be difficult for most microorganisms to survive, let alone thrive.only part extremophile microorganisms Such conditions may exist on Earth.
The surprising stability of Venusian amino acids
The study found that Venusian amino acids were surprisingly stable in droplets of sulfuric acid.paper said:
In this study, we studied 20 biogenic amino acids across a range of sulfuric acid concentrations (81% and 98% w/w, the remainder being water) and temperatures in the Venus cloud. Nineteen of the biogenic amino acids tested were either non-reactive after 4 weeks (13 at 98% w/w and 12 at 81% w/w) or chemically modified only in their side chains. I understand that. Therefore, our major finding is that the amino acid backbone remains intact in concentrated sulfuric acid. These discoveries greatly expand the range of biologically relevant molecules that can be components of concentrated sulfuric acid solvent-based biochemistry.
Petkowski called the discovery that amino acids are stable in sulfuric acid:
Complex organic chemistry is possible in Venus’ concentrated sulfuric acid clouds, an unexpected discovery that further supports the idea that organic chemistry is likely to actually exist in Venus’ clouds.
These discoveries greatly expand the range of biologically relevant molecules that can be components of concentrated sulfuric acid solvent-based biochemistry.
This is important because amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. And proteins are necessary for life, at least life on Earth.
Organic chemistry in the clouds of Venus?
Previous research has shown that other important molecules necessary for life, such as nucleobases, may also remain stable in concentrated sulfuric acid. If this is possible for Venusian amino acids as well, it opens up the possibility that interesting organic chemistry may be occurring in Venusian clouds. Petkowski said:
Additionally, complex organic chemistry may be present in Venus’s concentrated sulfuric acid clouds, supporting the idea that Venusian clouds may indeed have organic chemistry.
![Illustration of irregularly broken colored balls and short branching lines with element abbreviations.](https://earthsky.org/upl/2024/01/amino-acid-selenocysteine-3D-balls-model-and-2D-skeletal-model.svg_.png)
![Illustration of irregularly broken colored balls and short branching lines with element abbreviations.](https://earthsky.org/upl/2024/01/amino-acid-selenocysteine-3D-balls-model-and-2D-skeletal-model.svg_.png)
Learn more about organic chemistry
Petkowski and his university showed that amino acids can survive in sulfuric acid droplets on Venus. Now they want to further explore the potential of organic chemistry in the same environment. Are such chemical reactions actually occurring now? Petkowski told Space.com:
We know that concentrated sulfuric acid is not universally hostile to organic chemistry, and surprisingly, many organic substances behave well in this aggressive solvent, if not more so. It was shown to be stable and soluble for months.
Future mission to Venus
Privately funded Rocket Lab mission to Venus It is currently scheduled to launch in early 2025 (previously 2023). We plan to search for organic matter in Venus’ clouds. Mr. Petkowski is the deputy principal investigator for concept studies for the mission.
NASA is also planning two new missions to Venus. DAVINCI+ and Veritas. They are part of NASA’s Discovery Program. Each is scheduled to be released between 2028 and 2030. DAVINCI+ (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of NOble Gases, Chemistry, and Imaging) will measure the composition of Venus’ atmosphere to understand how Venus formed and evolved. They are also trying to find out whether this planet once had an ocean. VERITAS (Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy) will map the surface of Venus and reveal its geological history. Scientists want to know why it developed so differently from Earth. It could also help determine whether some of Venus’ volcanoes are really still active, as other studies have suggested.
Conclusion: New research shows that amino acids can survive in sulfuric acid droplets in Venus’ clouds. If there were amino acids on Venus, what would happen to life itself?
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