Life on Venus is a topic that has interested astronomers for decades. And so, the other day, a Russian scientist announced that almost 40 years ago, the Soviet Union recorded evidence of “some movement” on the planet's surface.
The Venus 13 probe was launched by the USSR in 1981 to explore its sister Earth, which has a very harsh atmosphere. The details of the mission were kept under wraps as it happened at a time of incredibly escalating tensions with the United States, just after the Apollo 11 mission sent the first two people to the moon in 1969.
However, 30 years later, Russian scientist Leonid Ksanfomality published an article in the journal Solar System Research, claiming that the collected images contained evidence of life on Venus.
The Quest TV documentary 'NASA Unexplained Files' showed exactly how this story happened:
'The Soviet space probe reaches the hottest planet in the solar system. The lander, equipped with cameras and scientific instruments, flies more than 48 km through clouds of sulfuric acid to reach the surface. The probe sends back images that appear to show something moving on the surface. '
It took three decades before a Russian scientist discovered amazing images from the archives. During the Cold War era, the USSR kept the research results a closely guarded secret. Three decades passed before Russian scientist Leonid Ksanfomality discovered amazing images from the archives.
One image shows the Venera 13 lander parked on the rocky surface of Venus, and a crab-shaped object a few inches from the probe. In another image, also taken by Venus 13, this crab-like object is found elsewhere. Here is what Ksanfomality writes in his article:
'Let's boldly assume that the morphological features of an object can tell us that it is alive.
However, his opinion of the scientist was questioned by the professor of naval sciences Christopher Orwell from the USA:
“In the seventies and eighties, we knew very little about the Venus missions. Now we also saw something strange in the photographs. Something like a disc that is moving. However, analysis of the photographs by NASA experts showed that in fact it is, in all likelihood, the lens cover from the camera of the Venera 'apparatus.
However, the American astrophysicist Hakim Olusey said that it is quite possible to find life on Venus, and we just know too little about this planet:
'If you look at all of our space exploration, you will see that too much power has been focused on the Moon and Mars, and Venus has been left behind. But Venus, at the same time, may be the most interesting place to observe in the observable Universe. '
