BepiColombo may be able to search for signs of life as it passes Venus

By Leah Crane

BepiColombo is set to pass by Venus in October, where it may help confirm recent potential signs of life

ESA/ATG medialab

A spacecraft bound for Mercury may be able to take crucial measurements that could help us confirm potential signs of life seen on Venus.

On 14 September, a team of researchers announced that they had found a gas called phosphine in Venus’s clouds, and no non-biological processes that we know about could make it in such large amounts. The BepiColombo spacecraft may be able to confirm that the phosphine is indeed there.

BepiColombo is a joint mission by the …