Could Venus have been Earth's twin? A new equation investigates
What's the story
A team of scientists has developed a new equation, the Venus Life Equation (VLE), which could help determine if life ever existed on Venus. Diana Gentry, Director of Ames's Aerobiology Laboratory at NASA's Ames Research Center, presented this groundbreaking work during a session at the recent 2025 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. The VLE is similar to the Drake Equation (DE) and can also give insights into other worlds. DE estimates the number of active extraterrestrial civilizations in our galaxy.
Equation explained
VLE's role in understanding life's existence on Venus
The VLE isn't a conclusive answer to the question of life on Venus but a framework to think about the possibility of life. It helps estimate the chances of life based on factors that can be constrained or quantified through observation, experiment, and modeling. The authors state, "The fundamental goal of the VLE is to provide a scaffold for estimating the chance of life based on factors that can be constrained or quantified through observation, experiment, and modeling."
Parameters analyzed
VLE's parameters and their implications
The VLE employs three main parameters: Origination, Robustness, and Continuity. These factors are employed to assess how likely life is at a given time; how likely life emerged before that time; how large and diverse the biosphere would be over time; and if life-sustaining conditions continued to exist till then. The authors explain that "A low R value indicates a small or fragile biosphere more vulnerable to extinction from the threats captured in the final continuity term."
Earth's perspective
VLE's application to Earth's biosphere
Earth's biosphere has been diverse and resilient, surviving multiple mass extinction events, including asteroid impacts and global glaciation. Some of these catastrophic events occurred early in the planet's history, yet life persisted and evolved. Studying these survival patterns could offer valuable insights into the potential for life on other planets.