If you were looking at our solar system from a planet orbiting another star, you might speculate that there's life on two planets: Earth and Venus. They have about the same size and mass, both orbit in or close to the sun's habitable zone and both have atmospheres. Of course, a closer look reveals that the high temperature on Venus, its lack of water and its toxic air kill any chances of life today. However, a new study suggests that this might not have always been the case and that Venus could have been teeming with life while Earth was still struggling to create it. "It's one of the big mysteries about Venus. How did it get so different from Earth when it seems likely to have started so similarly? The question becomes richer when you consider astrobiology, the possibility that Venus and Earth were very similar during the time of the origin of life on Earth." David Grinspoon of the Planetary Science Institute in Arizona was part of a NASA team modeling various climate conditions on