American scientists came to the conclusion that 3 billion years ago the climate on Venus was not as harsh as it is now, and it could become the first inhabited planet in the solar system.
The surface of Venus is hot enough to melt lead, and toxic clouds of sulfuric acid cloud its sky. Venus is often called the evil twin of the Earth, but the conditions of life on this planet have not always been so "hellish". According to recent research, Venus may have been the first habitable planet in the solar system, writes The Guardian.
From the results of the study, which will be presented this week at the meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Pasadena, it follows that when primitive bacteria first appeared on Earth, Venus may have had a mild climate and was filled with oceans up to 2000 m deep.
“If you lived on Venus 3 billion years ago at low latitudes and lowlands, you would not see any difference from life in the tropics on Earth today,” said Michael Way, who studied the planet at the Gobbart Institute for Space Research in New York. According to him, the sky on Venus at that time was cloudy, and in some regions it rained all day long.
Wei also added that if the calculations of scientists are correct, then the oceans on Venus disappeared only 715 million years ago, which means that their existence time was enough for the appearance of microbes.
Other researchers also agreed that, despite the different fates of the two planets, Earth and Venus may be similar.
Experts hope that future research will help find out if Venus was habitable. However, scientists note that these works will be difficult to carry out. “It will take the development of technology and money to create a ship that can not only land on Venus, but also exist on it. To "survive", the robot will have to learn to burrow into the surface of the planet, "- said one of the researchers.