Meteors that brushed Earth's atmosphere may have brought life to Venus, study says - Fox News

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Earlier this month, researchers discovered traces of phosphine in the clouds of Venus, a molecule that is only made on Earth as a byproduct of life.

"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 researchers, Amir Siraj and Abraham Loeb, wrote in the study's abstract. "As a result, the origin of possible Venusian life may be fundamentally indistinguishable from that of terrestrial life.".

VENUS SHOWS SIGNS OF POTENTIAL ALIEN LIFE IN ITS CLOUDS, SCIENTISTS FIND.

The idea put forth in the study by Siraj and Loeb is known as panspermia, the hypothesis that life on one planet originated from microorganisms in outer space and moved to another. In recent memory, it has been suggested that life on Earth may have originated in this manner.

Several previous studies have discussed the idea of panspermia, including one earlier this year, that suggested comets may have delivered the "essential element" for life on Earth.

"Further work is needed to investigate the existence and abundance of microbial life in the upper atmosphere, particularly at the altitude considered here, ∼ 85 km, at which Earth-grazing object would avoid significant heating," the researchers explained.

"In addition, if life is discovered by a direct probe sent into the atmosphere of Venus, it will be necessary to calibrate the abundance of life as a function of altitude on Venus.".