Rakesh Mogul, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, led a team reanalyzing data from the 1978 Pioneer Venus mission showing that the planet's cloud aerosols contain substantial water and iron, overturning the long-held view that they’re mostly sulfuric acid. The findings suggest complex cloud chemistry and renews questions about the possibility of habitable conditions in Venus’ atmosphere.
This article was originally published on on October 1, 2025.