We are exposed to the notion of how vast the Universe is and how little we know about it – and while regular humans fantasize about elongated green creatures and devote considerable resources to production of science fiction movies, Earth’s top solid-bodied scientists focus on finding micro-organisms in the Solar System.

One may ask why would such an exploration be possibly impactful? The answer is simple: it would dethrone planet Earth as a habitat unique in regard to its capability of fostering the creation of life.

It is not breaking news that humanity will be able to settle on Mars much sooner than on Venus, as there is probably no water on Venus, rains consist of sulphuric acids, the atmosphere is so thick that the human body would get immediately squashed, and the surface temperature stands at 471 degrees Celsius. Effectively, despite being barren, cold, and thinly atmosphered, Mars presents itself as a more inviting opportunity for a species dreaming of a multi-planetary civilization.

However, while Mars is the primary destination for space exploration, recent research suggested that it is Venus where one should look for the proof of the existence of extraterrestrial life.

The debate

It is not surprising that such a claim resulted in intense scrutiny from scientists involved in space exploration.

Professor Victoria Meadows of the University of Washington in Seattle, United States, disputed the findings, suggesting that Greaves and her team confused phosphorus trihydride (PH3) with sulfur dioxide (SO2), the latter known to be of abundance in the Venusian atmosphere. Indeed, there is a minuscule difference between the frequencies at which the light is absorbed by PH3 and SO2. Answering, Prof Greaves and her team conducted further research. They did not find any spectral lines which would suggest that Meadows’ claim was correct.

Another doubt was related to the question of whether the Cardiff team had not made an error while processing data – Prof Meadows claimed that error might have originated from incorrect calibration of the apparatus used by the team led by Prof Greaves. Again, further research was conducted, this time leading to the findings presented in the initial paper being amended: Greaves still claimed that phosphine gas is present on Venus, yet in lower amounts than what was first believed.

The consequences

The debate continues and although the existence of life on Venus should be considered to be neither confirmed nor declined, it is worth considering the possible implications of such a possibility.

If we think about it thoroughly, what mankind is really interested in is finding another intelligent and self-aware life form, capable of amassing knowledge over generations. Yet, in order for that to be possible at all, the first condition is for any life to be present elsewhere than on Earth. The next steps we can follow are observing the history of our planet. Firstly, life evolved beyond one-cell organisms, enabling complex entities to appear. Secondly, some of these entities – animals – have formed nervous systems and then brains in order to adapt to the environment. Finally, homo sapiens became self-aware and capable of ensuring their survival by creating what we call civilisation.

The probability of such a set of events happening is dramatically low. The Universe, however, is as close to the notion of infinity as definition permits, both in space and time scale. Therefore, we arrive at a calculation where something with a probability of one to infinity is multiplied by an infinite factor. Effectively, the mathematical answer to the question of whether aliens exist is inevitably very vague and stands at simple ‘this cannot be ruled out’.

Confirming the existence of living organisms anywhere else in the Universe, even on the planet closest to Earth, would hugely alter the calculation in the aforementioned calculation. We could then quite safely assume that the Universe is full of life, which inevitably skyrockets the possibility for mankind to find an intelligent, human-like form of life.

Or not human-like at all. The beauty of the discovery in question is that it does not exclude the possibility that life still exists on Venus. If there would be organisms capable of surviving in the Venusian atmosphere, it would mean that life is way more resilient than we have ever imagined.