Thought 2020 couldn't get stranger? Russia just claimed Venus

[Bent8484]

Here's the article about it. This is in the wake of the announcement earlier this week that phosphine metabolites had been detected in the Venusian atmosphere, and since they break down quickly, these metabolites are likely being replenished by a biological source, probably extremophile bacteria.

Now, these bacteria and their metabolites aren't exactly a valuable resource, and anything worthwhile on the surface would be hard to exploit because of atmospheric conditions (90% sulfuric acid) and temperature. This discovery is mostly just significant for research purposes. It's really hard to say what Russia could hope to gain from such a claim...

Maybe they want to go down in history as the first to confirm the discovery of extra-terrestrial life? That's my only theory so far. Any ideas?

 

[Bent8484]

The French air force is now the French "air and space force", as of this week.

Nothing unusual, just 2020 stuff.

 

[Bent8484]

Oh, and here's a screenshot of a NASA press release, where the editor made a Freudian slip and said the purpose was distraction. Last sentence.