Venus as a Potentially Habitable Planet

Scientists have been speculating on Venus as a habitable world for over half a century, not the scorching surface, but the much cooler atmosphere at 48 to 60 km above the surface. The concept is that Venus’ perpetual cloud cover might host life, as Earth’s clouds do.  The Venus clouds, however, are not made of water but are composed of concentrated sulfuric acid—an aggressive chemical that kills Earth life. Professor Seager will describe recent lab-based experiments that advance the notion that the Venus atmosphere environment may be able to support complex chemicals needed for life. She will describe the Morning Star Missions to Venus that aim to find signs of life or life itself in the Venus clouds.

Professor Sara Seager is a Canadian-American astrophysicist and Professor of Physics, Planetary Science, and Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she holds the Class of 1941 Professor Chair. Her research ranges from the foundation of exoplanet atmospheres to innovative theories about life on other worlds to development of novel space mission concepts. She now leads the Morning Star Missions to Venus in search of signs of life in Venus’ clouds.