Rovers on Venus.

[Stargazer]

Originally posted by: Tormod

Yes. No dates are set as of yet, AFAIK. NASA has very little on the subject.

Here's one page:

JPL: Beyond 2009
http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/miss...eMissions.html

One thing I like about space exploration today is that a lot of it is done through international cooperation. About sample return missions, it is part of the long term exploration programme that ESA has initiated, called Aurora. The sample return mission will be launched as two missions between 2011 and 2014, and before that, in 2007 if I remember correctly, ESA will send a rover to Mars, and one of its main objectives is to search for life. Link to the Aurora programme: http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Aurora/index.html

[Stargazer]

Originally posted by: Aki
About Venus... since the temperature is so high there, would there be any organisms that could live at such temperature?

Personally I would doubt that, but there are some new ideas about life in the atmosphere. I don't know enough about chemistry or biology to say if this is at all possible, but here is an article: http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992843

[BlameTheEx]

Tormod

That "Venus Sample Return Mission Studied" sums up the problems well. You can't use a small rocket from the surface. It does offer solutions, but they are so complex I doubt the projected research budget, or the odds against success would make pleasant reading.

May I congratulate the article on reaching its majority, but I rather suspect it will be collecting its pension before anything happens.

Aki

The limits for life are, to say the least, uncertain. Wherever there are chemical reactions there is some hope of self reproducing catalysts. That is my definition of life, but it might not be yours. The wider the range of elements, and complex molecules available, the greater the number of chemical reactions possible, the more likely that such life will start.

Temperature might not be a problem. Lots of complex molecules are stable at such temperature. The big problem is liquids. For molecules to interact, they must be moved. On earth life uses water as the medium. In theory any liquid in which a good range of molecules can be dissolved might suffice. At those temperatures I would suspect that almost any liquid would dissolve just about anything, but what would be liquid? Given the absence of free oxygen, complex carbon based molecules might be possible. Some sort of wax, or grease? Carbon bonds are strong enough to survive the temperature, and a large enough molecule should be liquid.

However, my main hope is chemistry with gas as a medium.

But these are arguments for life on Venus now. Maybe there is none now, but there was once. There is a good argument that Venus had water, and thus perhaps life, in the past.

Check this out:

http://spacelink.nasa.gov/NASA.Proje...us.Discoveries

[alexander]

I dont see a reason why it is not possible to find any form of life on Venus. There are organisms on earth that have adapted to survive in extreme environments, some bacteria can suvive temperatures of -90 degrees celcius, others like the thermoasidphile can survive temperatures of up to 110 degrees celcius. I really dont see why an organism can not adapt to 400 degree weather, well i can see where someone who will argue can come from, but if a bacteria developed a really thick cell wall, mutated in some way, i dont see why it isnt possible for it to suvive temperatures that are 4 times of those on earth.

[BlameTheEx]

alexander.

Earth style life can't adapt so easily. A thick cell wall or mutation can't alter the lack of liquid water. There is not even water vapour on Venus, but it wouldn't help if there was. Nothing is going to make it liquid at those temperatures.

Any life that exists there now will not be water based, and will have no relationship whatsoever to earth life. This is not a mater of adaptation. It is a mater of starting from a completely different chemistry. DNA for instance, would not take those temperatures. Genetic information must be coded using something else.

[alexander]

i guess you are right, but it doesnt mean that nothing can survive the conditions....