--- title: "Life May Have Hopped From Earth to Venus on Asteroid, Scientists Say" description: "In a recently uploaded preprint, researchers argue that the discovery of phosphine on Venus could be chalked up to asteroids grazing Earth's atmosphere." date: "2020-09-24" modified: "2020-09-24" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/life-hopped-from-earth-venus-asteroids" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "asteroids" - "the digest" - "Venus" --- # Life May Have Hopped From Earth to Venus on Asteroid, Scientists Say ![In a recently uploaded preprint, researchers argue that the discovery of phosphine on Venus could be chalked up to asteroids grazing Earth's atmosphere.]() *\Image: Image via NeedPix\* ## Hitching a Ride The [discovery of phosphine gas](), a potential biomarker, in the atmosphere of Venus made a big splash earlier this month, suggesting that life could survive in the Earth-like conditions inside Venus's clouds. In a [recently uploaded preprint](), head of Harvard astronomy department Avi Loeb and undergraduate student Amir Siraj argue that the discovery may be chalked up to massive asteroids first grazing the Earth's atmosphere, picking up some microscopic life, and later depositing it in Venus's skies \[right?\]. ## Long Lost Cousins In other words, microbial life may have hitchhiked from Earth to Venus via atmosphere-grazing asteroids. In fact, the duo show that plenty of asteroids have already made such a trip in their paper. "Although the abundance of terrestrial life in the upper atmosphere is unknown, these planet-grazing shepherds could have potentially been capable of transferring microbial life between the atmospheres of Earth and Venus," the paper reads. "As a result, the origin of possible Venusian life may be fundamentally indistinguishable from that of terrestrial life." ## Life in Hell It's one of a handful of circulating theories. [Other scientists have suggested]() that rather than originating from Earth, possible lifeforms on Venus may have originated back when Venus was a completely different planet — not the acidic, boiling hellscape it is now. Yet another [team, from MIT, suggests]() that tiny microbes could be cycling up and down, first falling inside droplets before being swept back up by convection currents inside Venus's clouds. **READ MORE:** [Earth life may have traveled to Venus aboard sky-skimming asteroid]() \[*Space.com*\] **More on life on Venus:** *[Scientists Speculate About How Life on Venus Could Have Begun]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()