VENUS — New research shows that Venus may have once been habitable like Earth, before it was turned into a hell-like planet by a mysterious event.<br /><br />According to the Europlanet Society, NASA's Pioneer Venus found evidence in 1978 that Venus may have once had shallow oceans on its surface.<br /><br />To see if it has ever had a stable climate that can support liquid water, researchers from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies created a series of five simulations with different levels of water coverage.<br /><br />According to all five scenarios, Venus maintained a stable temperature of between 20 to 50 degrees Celsius for about 3 billion years. This means it would have been able to support liquid water, and possibly allow life to emerge.<br /><br />Researchers believe a massive resurfacing event 700 million years ago triggered an outgassing of carbon dioxide that made Venus' atmosphere too hot and dense for life to survive.<br /><br />The exact cause of the resurfacing event is unknown, but scientists say it may be linked to volcanic activity.<br /><br />Magma and molten rock flowing up to the surface would have released large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. If magma solidifies before reaching the top, it can create a barrier that would have prevented gas from being reabsorbed.<br /><br />Although more missions are needed to better understand Venus' history and evolution, the recent findings have implications for exoplanets in the "Venus-zone", and how they may actually host liquid water and temperate climates.
