Researchers Discover First Signs of Life in the Clouds of Venus

The search for life beyond Earth has largely revolved around our rocky red neighbor. NASA has launched multiple rovers over the years, with a new one currently en route, to sift through Mars’ dusty surface for signs of water and other hints of habitability.

Japan’s Akatsuki orbiter captured this image of Venus’s clouds with its ultraviolet imager.Credit: ISAS, JAXA, Akatsuki; Processing: Meli thev

Why have we historically looked for life only on Mars, when Venus is also one of our closest neighbors? In fact, it was Venus that saw the first landing of a planetary space probe in 1970. After that, scientists lost interest in our sister planet. Instead, dozens of probes were sent to Mars. Last year, scientists found evidence of biological life in Venus’ atmosphere. All eyes are now on Venus, of course, and excitement is building.