LPL Colloquium: Dr. Sara Seager

Dr. Sara Seager
Professor
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Scientists have speculated for over half a century that Venus might be habitable—not on its scorching surface, but in the much cooler cloud layer 48 to 60 km above the planet. The concept is that Venus’ perpetual cloud cover might host simple single-celled life, as Earth’s clouds do. The Venus clouds, however, are not made of water but are composed of concentrated sulfuric acid—an aggressive chemical that is toxic for Earth life. We have found that some key biomolecules—including amino acids, short peptides, and even a genetic-like polymer—can remain stable in concentrated sulfuric acid under Venus-like conditions. Some lipids are not only stable in concentrated sulfuric acid but also self-assemble into vesicle-like structures. These findings and others suggest that complex organic chemistry may be possible in Venus’ clouds and motivate the astrobiology-focused Morning Star Missions to Venus. Laboratory hardware development for Venus led us to a different topic: ionic liquids—exotic, non-volatile solvents that can remain stable under conditions where liquid water cannot exist. For the first time, we have shown that select ionic liquids can arise naturally from planetary materials. These results reinforce the idea that habitability may not be limited to water-rich worlds. By considering alternative solvents and extreme environments, we open new pathways for exploring how life might arise, persist, and be detected on planetary bodies far different from our own. 

Host: Dr. Sukrit Ranjan

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