When
Feb. 24, 2026, 11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Where
NEW LOCATION Center for Creative Photography, Room 108
Presenter Details
Sara Seager, Professor of Aerospace Engineering; Physics; and Planetary Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Seminar Information
For thousands of years, inspired by the starry night sky, humanity has wondered what lies beyond Earth. In the past three decades, that question has transformed from philosophy to data: astronomers have discovered thousands of exoplanets orbiting stars other than the Sun, revealing that small rocky worlds are common in our galaxy. The exoplanet census has made one thing clear: Earth-like conditions may not be the norm. If most observationally accessible rocky worlds are hotter and more chemically aggressive than Earth, then limiting habitability to water-rich environments may be too restrictive. We therefore turned to the laboratory to test whether key biomolecules can survive in non-water solvents. Our recent experiments show that some key biomolecules—including amino acids, peptides, and a nucleic-acid–like polymer—can remain stable in concentrated sulfuric acid, the dominant liquid in Venus’ temperate cloud layer. Under the same conditions, lipids can even self-assemble into vesicles. This surprising chemistry reopens the question of whether Venus might be habitable in the form of an aerial biosphere. While building instrumentation and conducting laboratory studies for Venus’ clouds, we inadvertently “rediscovered” ionic liquids—exotic, polar, non-volatile solvents—and showed for the first time that hydrogen sulfate ionic liquids can form naturally from planetary materials. Due in part to their extremely low vapor pressure, ionic liquids remain stable under extreme conditions where water cannot exist. By considering water-alternative solvents, we can chart new frontiers that integrate quantum chemistry, biomolecular chemistry, planetary physics, and space exploration—potentially transforming our understanding of life’s origins and its possibilities across the cosmos.
Seminar Host
Beckman Scholars and Ross Buchan, MCB
Contacts
Whitney DeGroot