WEBVTT FILE 1 00:00:01.067 --> 00:00:05.605 The surface of Venus is completely inhospitable for life, barren, 2 00:00:05.705 --> 00:00:10.543 dry, crushed under an atmosphere about 90 times the pressure of Earth's 3 00:00:10.810 --> 00:00:13.913 and roasted by temperatures two times hotter than an oven. 4 00:00:14.180 --> 00:00:16.182 But was it always that way? 5 00:00:16.182 --> 00:00:18.451 Could Venus once have been a twin of Earth, 6 00:00:18.451 --> 00:00:21.087 a habitable world with liquid water oceans? 7 00:00:22.022 --> 00:00:26.192 Here are 10 mysteries of Venus that NASA's scientists are still grappling with. 8 00:00:31.064 --> 00:00:32.899 Did Venus ever host life? 9 00:00:32.899 --> 00:00:37.370 To answer this question, we first need to understand the past environment on Venus. 10 00:00:37.670 --> 00:00:41.374 This involves studying the atmosphere, geology and history of the planet. 11 00:00:41.641 --> 00:00:44.978 Something NASA's DAVINCI mission plans on exploring in great detail. 12 00:00:46.046 --> 00:00:48.448 Why did Venus evolve so differently than Earth? 13 00:00:48.748 --> 00:00:50.183 Venus and Earth are similar 14 00:00:50.183 --> 00:00:53.520 in size and density, and yet they are strikingly different. 15 00:00:54.220 --> 00:00:57.624 Air pressure at the surface of Venus is 90 times that of Earth. 16 00:00:57.891 --> 00:01:01.294 Venus rotates on its axis backwards compared to the other planets 17 00:01:01.294 --> 00:01:04.631 in the solar system, and the surface of Venus is over 900 18 00:01:04.631 --> 00:01:08.034 degrees Fahrenheit, making it the hottest planet in our solar system. 19 00:01:08.234 --> 00:01:09.369 Hot enough to melt lead. 20 00:01:10.670 --> 00:01:12.605 Venus's evolution through time 21 00:01:12.605 --> 00:01:15.975 may help us understand how habitability evolves over time 22 00:01:16.109 --> 00:01:19.379 and where we might find habitable planets beyond our solar system. 23 00:01:20.713 --> 00:01:22.649 How did Venus form? 24 00:01:22.649 --> 00:01:25.785 It is still not known if Venus was bombarded by comets 25 00:01:25.785 --> 00:01:27.387 and asteroids rich in water 26 00:01:27.387 --> 00:01:31.324 the way Earth was. Understanding the delivery of water to Venus 27 00:01:31.324 --> 00:01:35.028 is important for evaluating its potential to host oceans in the past. 28 00:01:37.464 --> 00:01:39.866 What is the atmosphere composition at Venus? 29 00:01:40.633 --> 00:01:44.304 One of the biggest mysteries of Venus's atmosphere lies in the lower most 30 00:01:44.304 --> 00:01:48.408 or deep atmosphere where carbon dioxide is heated and pressurized 31 00:01:48.675 --> 00:01:51.878 to the point where it acts more like a hot liquid than a gas. 32 00:01:52.912 --> 00:01:56.749 The DAVINCI probe will measure chemistry, pressure, temperature and dynamics 33 00:01:57.083 --> 00:02:01.855 at least every 200 meters as it descends through Venus's atmosphere to the surface. 34 00:02:04.557 --> 00:02:07.360 How are the rocks of Venus formed? 35 00:02:07.360 --> 00:02:09.729 DAVINCI's high resolution imaging beneath 36 00:02:09.729 --> 00:02:12.599 the clouds will test ideas about the role of water 37 00:02:12.765 --> 00:02:17.403 in forming what may be ancient continental crust on Venus at human scales. 38 00:02:18.104 --> 00:02:21.040 DAVINCI will study one of these tesserae, Alpha Regio, 39 00:02:21.174 --> 00:02:25.245 To better understand its composition. How much water did Venus have? 40 00:02:25.578 --> 00:02:27.881 Liquid water is essential for life. 41 00:02:27.881 --> 00:02:31.317 We cannot assess Venus's past habitability without knowing 42 00:02:31.317 --> 00:02:35.155 how much water Venus may have had and when and how it lost that water. 43 00:02:35.522 --> 00:02:39.192 Scientists will use measurements of the atmosphere from The DAVINCI probe 44 00:02:39.359 --> 00:02:42.996 to explore clues of the story of past water on our sister planet. 45 00:02:45.031 --> 00:02:47.300 What is the nature of surface activity at Venus? 46 00:02:48.067 --> 00:02:51.271 Earth's crust hosts a network of relatively thin plates 47 00:02:51.538 --> 00:02:54.874 jostling around on the planet's surface in constant horizontal motion. 48 00:02:55.341 --> 00:02:57.644 If similar plate tectonics exist on Venus, 49 00:02:57.911 --> 00:03:01.047 the planet's crust must experience continental drift like earth. 50 00:03:01.548 --> 00:03:04.384 Another key mystery about the surface of Venus is volcanism. 51 00:03:04.984 --> 00:03:08.254 The two upcoming missions to Venus, DAVINCI and VERITAS 52 00:03:08.621 --> 00:03:11.491 aim to understand the current volcanic activity at Venus. 53 00:03:13.092 --> 00:03:15.395 What did the mountains look like on Venus? 54 00:03:15.395 --> 00:03:19.032 Previous Venus Landers, Venera and Vega have taken photographs 55 00:03:19.032 --> 00:03:23.102 of the Venetian plains from the surface, but DAVINCI's cameras will snap the first 56 00:03:23.102 --> 00:03:27.407 ever high resolution aerial photos of a mountainous Tessera surface 57 00:03:27.407 --> 00:03:30.710 as the probe descends over the rugged Alpha Regio Highlands region. 58 00:03:32.045 --> 00:03:34.581 Are there Venus like planets beyond our solar system? 59 00:03:35.281 --> 00:03:37.717 We will be able to relate what we discover at Venus 60 00:03:37.817 --> 00:03:41.688 to Venus, like exoplanets observed by the James Webb Space Telescope. 61 00:03:42.088 --> 00:03:44.357 If Venus shows signs of previous habitability, 62 00:03:44.624 --> 00:03:47.327 that could mean these exoplanets might be habitable as well. 63 00:03:48.228 --> 00:03:50.597 New mysteries we haven't thought of yet. 64 00:03:50.597 --> 00:03:53.166 There are many new mysteries we can't even imagine right now 65 00:03:53.800 --> 00:03:56.069 with NASA's newest missions to our sister planet. 66 00:03:56.569 --> 00:03:58.571 There are plenty of new discoveries to be made. 67 00:03:59.172 --> 00:04:00.607 Venus. Here we come.