A new discovery on Venus has shocked scientists and astronomers across the country. Last week, gases were seen floating around the planet. The gases seemed to be produced by a living organism. How could this be? With Venus averaging nine-hundred degrees Fahrenheit, there is no way that any human could live there. The atmosphere on Venus is made up of carbon dioxide which is poisonous to humans and animals and would make it difficult to live. The gas is called phosphine, which is the main result of life. “Phosphine is caused by human activity, so finding this gas on Venus is exciting,” says one astronomer. “It proves that there could actually be life on Venus. We always thought Venus looked like Earth’s twin but never thought they were similar by having life.”

The problem with finding this discovery is machinery. Sending something into Venus is a bad move because it would burn quickly. Venus is so hot, it can melt lead! If we want to know more about the planet, we’re going to have to find ways to send cameras up. Scientists have a couple of ideas like sending hot air balloons like machines to circle the planet and send samples back to Earth. There are a lot of questions with that though. “The machine could blow up in seconds, and we can’t afford to lose anything that could set back our time.” The reason they’re rushing: Russia. 

As of Friday, September 18th, CBS announced that Russia is one step ahead. They had already discovered the planet gases and sent machinery up. This caused many questions. “Is Venus a Russian planet? What if that is why Phosphine is being produced? Could there be a “space” war over Venus? If this is true, we need to take action quickly before an opportunity for a space war begins. 

This discovery is very interesting to everyone. To think that there might be a third planet that could have life (Earth, Mars, Venus) is very exciting! This is a new discovery, which means we don’t have a lot of information. Just think about where we’ll be in a year!