Why We’re Going Back to Venus, with David Grinspoon

Is there life in the Venusian Clouds? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comic co-host Chuck Nice are joined by planetary astrobiologist David Grinspoon to discuss NASA’s return to Venus, our space future, and whether we’ll find life in our solar system. As a primary investigator on the upcoming DAVINCI mission, David explains why we haven't sent a dedicated U.S. mission to our sister planet since the 1980s and how the history of "space futures" has always been a reflection of our own culture and politics. Neil and David explore the evolution of our planetary visions, from the mass delusion of Martian canals and Jules Verne's moon voyagers to the propaganda efforts during and before the Apollo era. You'll learn how people once assumed every planet was inhabited, only to have their "cloud swamp" dreams shattered by the harsh reality of a runaway greenhouse effect. When did scientists realize Venus’s runaway greenhouse and that it wouldn’t have life? We get into the nuts and bolts of the DAVINCI (2031) and VERITAS missions. How do you build a probe to survive pressures 100 times that of Earth and temperatures hotter than a pizza oven? David breaks down the dive through the Venusian atmosphere, where the mission will capture the first-ever 21st-century measurements and descent photography of the surface. They also tackle the phosphine controversy: Could life actually thrive in a permanent global cloud deck? Why isn’t there life in the clouds on Earth, even though you can find life everywhere else? With the Europa Clipper heading to Jupiter’s icy moon and the OSIRIS-REX sample from Bennu revealing 14 different amino acids, the kit for life seems to be sprinkled across the cosmos. If the ingredients are common could life itself be too? Thanks to our Patrons Nick Pullia, Sean Cater, Keith Reiss, Seph Gordon, Charlie Viola, Miguel Rangel, Andrew Ferguson, JeAnnette Elaine Thomas, Hugh Caley, Daniel Weber, Chris, Peter Grossman, Darryl Baker, Joyce A Edwards, Maxim, Joshua Richard, Patrick ridlon, Kathleen Reardon, David Watts, Angelina Bryant, Liza, Dave Holloway, Ricardo Andrés Morales Muñoz, Damian Wilson, m. szachacz, Vince Johnson, Lucy, Randal Walcott, Rachel Ambrose, andrew wong, Richard Hudson, Peter Galindo, Mehdi Degryse, Carl Starr M.D., Rodrigo De Luca Comelli, Christian Harris, Ryan Grillo, Jose Villavicencio, Kell, Russ, Mota Ephrahim, Andre Campos-Gomez, Catherine Noiboonsook, Sam McClure, Jerry Taylor, Ian Howarth, Gerrard Lobo, Jordan Strauch, Pretender to the Throne, Dustin, Bulbacats, Jim Mirra, Matt, Adrian Martinez, GuruMojo - Kenny, Malcolm Townes, Russell, Vincent Thomas, Caleb Winters, Carsten, Frank, Andrew Sabado, Roger beeper, Jason Burden, lilacjasminetea, Eric, Samantha, Eric Sneddon, philip griffiths, Christian Chidester, Bruce Berky, Bill Polskoy, Maddux Hammer, Tim Neumark, nathan burcl, Paul Santos, Tognia, sugar, Mike Vacay, Niklas lundkvist, JaneB, Gutek, Natalie & Dad, Ashley, J Sh-Wood, Alexej Muehlberg, and Emery for supporting us this week. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction: David Grinspoon 02:15 - History of Space Futures 04:42 - Growing Up with Carl Sagan & Star Trek 10:30 - Portrayal of Aliens 12:40 - Popularizing Space 17:59 - Realizing Other Planets Didn’t Have Life 20:00 - Mars Canal Conspiracy & War of the Worlds 25:42 - Going Back to Venus with DAVINCI 33:30 - Could Life Thrive in the Clouds? 39:04 - The Health of the Search for Life 41:33 - What We Found on Asteroid Bennu 45:09 - Do Aliens Have Music? 49:20 - Closing Thoughts Check out our second channel, @StarTalkPlus Get the NEW StarTalk book, 'To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery' on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PL0NFn Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/startalkradio FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE to StarTalk: Twitter: http://twitter.com/startalkradio Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarTalk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startalk About StarTalk: Science meets pop culture on StarTalk! Astrophysicist & Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson, his comic co-hosts, guest celebrities & scientists discuss astronomy, physics, and everything else about life in the universe. Keep Looking Up! #StarTalk #NeildeGrasseTyson