Hacker News Reader

Wasn't Venus at one time more Earth like than Mars? Why is Mars the only chance?

Because Venus’ atmosphere is full of Sulphuric Acid and various greenhouse gases which wouldn’t allow life as we know it to exist.

Our atmosphere is full of Oxygen, which is very poisonous gas, which killed 99% of live organisms on Earth. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Oxidation_Event

Life adapts.

There's some speculation that Venus may have been far more earthlike for some, possibly much, of its history.

Similarly, Earth wasn't particularly earthlike, in contemporary terms, for much of its history -- sometimes far hotter, frequently far colder.