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Life on Venus? NASA considering probe to find possible life

WION Web Team
New Delhi, Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Sep 18, 2020, 11:26 AM IST
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Image for representation Photograph:(Reuters)

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The US space agency is reveiwing four proposals, including two robotic probes on Venus, which can be approved by next April

After the discovery of a gas that provides strong evidence of the presence of living organisms in Venus, NASA is considering giving approval to a mission to the planet on the solar system. 

On Monday, a team of scientists confirmed the presence of phosphine in Venus, a flammable gas present on Earth which provides evidence of the existence of living organisms. 

The US space agency is reveiwing four proposals, including two robotic probes on Venus, which can be approved by next April. 

One of the proposals is called DAVINCI+, which intends to probe the Venusian atmosphere.

"Davinci is the logical one to choose if you're motivated in part by wanting to follow this up - because the way to follow this up is to actually go there and see what's going on in the atmosphere," said David Grinspoon, an astrobiologist working on the DAVINCI+ proposal, as quoted by news agency Reuters. 

The name of the second proposal on Venus is VERITAS, that would target on understanding the planet's geological history. 

Earlier NASA chief Jim Bridenstine called the findings about Venus "most significant development" and called for "prioritising Venus". 

"Life on Venus? The discovery of phosphine, a byproduct of anaerobic biology, is the most significant development yet in building the case for life off Earth," he said on Twitter.