[music]
Mysteries abound in our universe, but bit by bit, we are
unlocking its secrets. We now know that our galaxy contains
billions of other planets – but how can we learn more about
them? What traits do these exoplanets have? What are they
made of? What are their environments like? How have they
evolved over time? Are they habitable? And can planets lose
habitability over time? Imagine we could study one of these
planets up close. We find one of similar size, mass, and
composition as Earth. By all accounts, this planet appears
very similar to our own. We discover evidence that this
world may have once had liquid water oceans and volcanoes – a
setting that could have been favorable to life. But over
time, something drastic happened to this environment. This
planet’s sun grew brighter and hotter - increasing the
temperature here to the point that the oceans boiled away. And
then gradually, the volcanic gasses created a thick
atmosphere with clouds of sulfuric acid. That once
friendly environment was gone. But all is not lost. The
remnants of such a world may hold the key to understanding
planetary evolution and habitability. The twist is that
this isn’t science fiction, this planet does exist. And if we
want to learn more about the past, present, and possible
future of our planet and the billions of similar exoplanets
out there – this mysterious one needs more study. And it doesn’t
reside in some distant solar system, truth be told, it sits
right next door. This planet is Venus. And the more mysteries
we can unravel here, the more answers we can find out there.