[News Terms] "There Was No Ocean from the Start" Geumseong, Life Impossible

A study has found that the second planet in the solar system, 'Geumseong' (Venus), never had oceans from the beginning. This analysis overturns the scientific community's previous assumption that oceans existed on Geumseong billions of years ago.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge in the UK concluded on the 2nd (local time) that Geumseong has never contained oceans since its formation 4.6 billion years ago. Their study suggests that the interior of Geumseong was too dry to have had enough water to support oceans in the past. This result was published in the international academic journal Nature Astronomy.

Photo by NASA

Some scientists believed that Geumseong’s temperature was lower in the past, allowing liquid oceans to exist. Geumseong is nicknamed the 'Devil’s Twin' because its size and mass are similar to Earth’s. It has 95% of Earth's radius, 81% of its mass, and is 72% as far from the Sun, making it a sibling-like planet with similar conditions. Therefore, it was speculated that Geumseong might have had an environment similar to Earth’s, possibly supporting life. Scientists believe that a rapid greenhouse effect on Geumseong created an environment where life could no longer survive, as it is today.

The research team revealed through atmospheric analysis that Geumseong was a hellish planet from the start. The surface temperature of Geumseong is currently 463 degrees Celsius due to the greenhouse effect caused by its carbon dioxide atmosphere. First, the researchers investigated whether oceans existed in the past. They focused on the fact that for Geumseong’s atmosphere to remain stable as it is now, chemical substances decomposed in the atmosphere must be continuously replenished by volcanic gas emissions. Based on observational data of Geumseong’s current atmospheric chemistry, they calculated the destruction rates of water, carbon dioxide, and carbonyl sulfide molecules in the atmosphere and modeled the restoration process of these disappearing substances by volcanic gas emissions.

Analysis of the atmospheric components showed that the moisture content in Geumseong’s volcanic gases did not exceed 6%. The moisture dissolved in the atmosphere greatly influences ocean formation. On Earth, the moisture content in volcanic gases ranges from 60% to 90%. This moisture level is a key factor in Earth being a planet with oceans. The low moisture content (6%) found in Geumseong’s volcanic gases indicates that oceans could not have formed there in the first place.

The research team stated that these results show that conditions for oceans to exist on Geumseong did not exist even in the past, and that water present in the atmosphere likely remained as vapor without condensing on the surface, eventually escaping into space.

Researcher Konstantinu said, "Although Geumseong is the closest planet, it evolved very differently from Earth at the edge of the habitable zone, making it important for exoplanet research. If Geumseong was never an environment capable of supporting life, the possibility of life existing on exoplanets similar to Geumseong currently discovered is low."

The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) plans to launch a small probe in 2029 that will penetrate Geumseong’s atmosphere and descend to its surface.

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