The question that’s been plaguing humankind forever is: Are we alone in the universe?, has finally been answered – No, we are not!

Phosphines, or PH3 as it’s known to its friends, is alive, living and thriving on Venus.

Phosphine on earth is part of a complex living ecosystem, that helps sustains life, even it is in the weirdest, smelliest, darkest places.

No one’s quite sure why or what it’s doing on Venus which is far too hot to be habitable but the chemical been found about 30 kilometres above the surface, in a cloud, in what’s called the Goldilocks spot – not too hot, not too cold, but just right.

The Russians have now laid claimed sovereignty over Venus, citing their the country has most often sent probes to and studied Venus.

Scientists have got excited about the possibilities and NASA is investigating sending probes on the 9 month journey to see what else they might discover.

Me, I love the fact that even though is not the sci-fi version of aliens we dreamed of, it is a sign that something apart from us is living out there.

I also like the fact that this chemical existence, in or around Venus makes no sense, as we understand it, which means we have to rethink our thinking.

And space is one of the top three macro trends that I believe will influence innovation over the next decade – the other two are autonomy and health/wellness.

All of this made for great on-air conversations as I chatted with Phil Whelan on Hong Kong Radio 3 and Anthony Tilli on MMM”s breakfast show as we entured out into space in search of our smelly next door alien neighbours.

Hong Kong Radio 3 – Phil Whelan (16 minutes 5 seconds)

MMM Breakfast – Anthony Tilli (5 minutes 42 seconds)