Help search for signs of life on Venus! The clouds of Venus contain droplets of concentrated sulfuric acid, an environment once thought to be far too harsh for complex chemistry. The Seager Lab has shown that several important classes of molecules, including nucleobases and peptides, can remain stable in concentrated sulfuric acid. In this community project, participants will learn how scientists use nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to test molecular stability. Each participant will be given a molecule and NMR data collected over time, and will analyze the data to determine whether the molecule survives in concentrated sulfuric acid. The results will contribute to a broader effort to understand what chemistry is possible in the clouds of Venus and its potential to support life.
Join Morning Star Missions to Venus’s community research group and contribute to real scientific work alongside the researchers who care most about answering these questions.
