Possible life on Venus could come from Earth

The “panspermia” hypothesis: microscopic organisms can travel between planets transported by meteorite impacts.

A new scientist suggests that, if there is life in the clouds of Venus, this may not have origin on the planet itself – but on the Terra.

The research, explains , is based on the hypothesis that “panspermia”: Microscopic organisms can travel between planets transported by meteorite impacts.

According to researchers, collisions violent events on the Earth’s surface over billions of years will have projected rocks containing microorganisms into space. Some of this material may have reached Venus, surviving the interplanetary journey and the extreme conditions during entry into the planet’s atmosphere.

To test this possibility, the team used computer models that simulate the behavior of meteorites — called “bolides” — when crossing the Venusian atmosphere. One of these models, known as “pancake model”, describes the fragmentation of objects and the dispersion of organic material in the form of a kind of “cloud” of particles, potentially capable of remaining in the upper layers of the atmosphere.

The results point to significant numbers: hundreds of billions of cells may have been transferred from Terra to Venus over about a billion years. Still, the most conservative estimate indicates that around 100 cells per year may reach Venusian clouds.

Despite these values, scientists emphasize that there are large uncertainties in the model. As with other formulas used in astrobiology, several factors — such as the survival of organisms during impact, space travel, or adaptation to the Venusian environment — remain difficult to quantify.

Venus presents extremely hostile conditions on the surface, with extremely high temperatures and a dense and toxic atmosphere. However, some upper layers of its clouds have more moderate temperatures and pressures, which has fueled the hypothesis of the existence of microbial life at these levels.

Therefore, if future space missions confirm the presence of life on Venus, it may not be native to the planet. Instead, it could represent a terrestrial life form that has managed to traverse space and adapt to a radically different environment — a scenario that reinforces the idea that life can be more resilient and widespread in the universe of what was thought.