Hypothetical Signs of Life on Venus: Revising Results of 1975—1982 TV Experiments | Sciact - CRIS-system of Boreskov Institute of Catalysis

Hypothetical Signs of Life on Venus: Revising Results of 1975—1982 TV Experiments Review

Journal

Physics-Uspekhi
ISSN: 1063-7869 , E-ISSN: 1468-4780

Output data

Year: 2019, Volume: 62, Number: 4, Pages: 378-404 Pages count : 27 DOI: 10.3367/UFNe.2018.12.038507

Tags

Venera missions, TV experiments, astrobiology, amisadas

Authors

Ksanfomality L V ¹ , Zelenyi L M ^1,2 , Parmon V N ^3,4 , Snytnikov V N ^3,4

Affiliations

1	Space Research Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Profsoyuznaya 84/32, 117997 Moscow, Russian Federation
2	Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (State University), Institutskii per. 9, 141700 Dolgoprudnyi, Moscow region, Russian Federation
3	Boreskov Institute of Catalysis, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, prosp. Akademika Lavrent'eva 5, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russian Federation
4	Novosibirsk State University, ul. Pirogova 1, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russian Federation

Extraterrestrial life may presumably be discovered not in worlds separated from Earth by tens of parsecs but on the surface of Earth's nearest planet neighbor in the Solar System, Venus. This conclusion follows from the newly processed archive data of the TV experiment that was performed in 1975 and 1982 on Venus's surface by the VENERA Soviet spacecraft missions. One of the main experiments, pioneering in situ TV scanning of the planet surface, has never been repeated by any other space mission. The unique archive data have been reprocessed using state-of-the-art technologies that enabled image details to be substantially improved. The new analysis of the VENERA television images has identified up to 18 hypothetical living objects that feature a complex regular structure and presumably are capable of very slow motion. The objects, whose dimensions are significant, may be indicative of the existence of life on a planet whose physical environment is crucially different from Earth's. Water, which is terrestrial life's basis, cannot exist in the liquid phase at temperatures of about 460°C characteristic of the spacecraft landing sites. Water content in the gaseous state is also negligible (about 2 × 10−5). Both water and oxygen are virtually absent in Venus's atmosphere. Therefore, the question is: what matter may life on the planet be built on? We consider chemical compounds stable at high temperatures that may be a base for hypothetical Venusian life. We conclude that to explore Venus's hypothetical life, a new dedicated mission, much more advanced than the VENERA missions, should be sent to the planet.

Ksanfomality L.V. , Zelenyi L.M. , Parmon V.N. , Snytnikov V.N.
Hypothetical Signs of Life on Venus: Revising Results of 1975—1982 TV Experiments
Physics-Uspekhi. 2019. V.62. N4. P.378-404. DOI: 10.3367/UFNe.2018.12.038507 WOS Scopus РИНЦ AN OpenAlex

Ксанфомалити Л.В. , Зеленый Л.М. , Пармон В.Н. , Снытников В.Н.
Гипотетические признаки жизни на планете Венера: ревизия результатов телевизионных экспериментов 1975—1982 гг.
Успехи физических наук. 2019. Т.189. №4. С.403–432. DOI: 10.3367/UFNr.2018.12.038507 РИНЦ OpenAlex

Submitted:	Aug 31, 2018
Accepted:	Dec 29, 2018
Published print:	Apr 1, 2019
Published online:	Jun 26, 2019

Web of science:	WOS:000472874200005
Scopus:	2-s2.0-85072528909
Elibrary:	41639820
Chemical Abstracts:	2019:1992632
OpenAlex:	W2906998454

DB	Citing
Scopus	3
Elibrary	6
Web of science	3
OpenAlex	4