Astrobiological potential of Venus atmosphere chemical anomalies and other unexplained cloud properties

Petkowski, Janusz J., Seager, Sara, Grinspoon, David H., Bains, William, Ranjan, Sukrit, Rimmer, Paul B., Buchanan, Weston P., Agrawal, Rachana, Mogul, Rakesh and Carr, Christopher E. 2024. Astrobiological potential of Venus atmosphere chemical anomalies and other unexplained cloud properties. Astrobiology 24 (4) , 343. 10.1089/ast.2022.0060

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Abstract

Long-standing unexplained Venus atmosphere observations and chemical anomalies point to unknown chemistry but also leave room for the possibility of life. The unexplained observations include several gases out of thermodynamic equilibrium (e.g., tens of ppm O2, the possible presence of PH3 and NH3, SO2 and H2O vertical abundance profiles), an unknown composition of large, lower cloud particles, and the “unknown absorber(s).” Here we first review relevant properties of the venusian atmosphere and then describe the atmospheric chemical anomalies and how they motivate future astrobiology missions to Venus.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Physics and Astronomy
Publisher:	Mary Ann Liebert
ISSN:	1531-1074
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	16 April 2024
Date of Acceptance:	8 October 2023
Last Modified:	04 May 2024 01:24
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/168004

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