Russian expert comments on a gas in the toxic atmosphere of the planet Venus that could be a by-product of life

A most interesting and important discovery, it shows we still know very little about the closest planet to ours. Naturally, this is by no means evidence of biological activity or its traces, nor does the original publication claim that. The most likely explanation is that we are dealing with a previously unknown geochemical or photochemical process that produces phosphine.

It deserves a separate mention that the discovery has been made with Earth-based telescopes rather than observation instruments in orbit. As of today, equipment from that class — heterodyne spectroradiometers operating in the terahertz range — is still too heavyweight and expensive to install on spacecraft. So there’s a thing or two that those planning future Venus missions could accomplish in that regard.