--- title: "Venus Life Finding Might Be Based on a Data Mistake" description: "Processing Error In September, a team of scientists made a big splash, claiming they had found possible signs of life on Venus. An analysis of the planet’s atmosphere found traces of phosphine, a colorless and odorless gas that results from organic matter breaking down here on Earth. But a recent reanalysis of the findings are […]" date: "2020-11-19" modified: "2020-11-19" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/venus-life-finding-data-mistake" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "the digest" - "Venus" - "venus life" --- # Venus Life Finding Might Be Based on a Data Mistake ![The same team that announced the detection of phosphine gas, a biomarker, in Venus's atmosphere, just found a processing error in its data.]() *\Image: NASA\* ## Processing Error In September, a team of scientists made a big splash when they claimed to [have found]() possible signs of life in the atmosphere of Venus. They said they'd found traces of phosphine, a colorless gas that results from organic matter breaking down here on Earth. But a recent reanalysis of the findings are calling that conclusion into question, as [*Nature* reports](). In fact, the exact same team that made the initial discovery has now found that part of its data may have included a processing error. The team therefore concluded that the levels of phosphine aren't nearly as high as they initially thought, based on observations made using the the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile. ## Concentration Problem The new analysis, based on data released by ALMA in mid November, concluded that average phosphine levels across the planet's atmosphere are only about one part per billion — a mere seventh of what the team originally reported in September, as *Nature* points out. Cardiff University astronomer Jane Greaves, who led the research, is now suggesting that levels of phosphine may vary significantly across the Venusian atmosphere, and could also peak and subside over time as well. ## From Venus To conclude that life exists on Venus, the team has to first confirm once and for all that phosphine is present in the planet's atmosphere — and the best way to do just that, they say, is to send another probe. Even if we did rule out phosphine, though, scientists are eager to get there. "There are 1,001 reasons to go back to Venus, and if the phosphine ‘goes away’ through further observations and analysis, there will still be 1,000 reasons to go," David Grinspoon, an astrobiologist at the Planetary Science Institute who was not involved in the research, told *Nature*. **READ MORE:** [Prospects for life on Venus fade — but aren’t dead yet]() \[*Nature*\] **More on Venus:** *[Researchers: Claim of Life Molecules on Venus May Have Been an Error]()* ## 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]()