Why Earth became habitable and not Venus?

London: Information about the improbable evolutionary path that enabled Earth and not Venus to sustain life has been found, shows research. Venus is the most similar planet to Earth in terms of size, mass, density, gravity and composition in our solar system.

While Earth has had a stable and habitable climate over geological time, Venus is in a climate catastrophe with a thick carbon dioxide atmosphere and very high surface temperatures. According to researchers, Earth's first crust, which was rich in radioactive heat-producing elements such as uranium and potassium, was torn from the planet and lost to space when asteroids bombarded the planet early in its history.

This phenomenon, known as impact erosion, helps explain a landmark discovery made over a decade ago about the Earth's composition. It is these events that potentially differentiate Earth from other planets. On Earth, shifting tectonic plates cause regular overturning of Earth's surface, which steadily cools the underlying mantle, maintains the planet's strong magnetic field and stimulates volcanic activity.

Erupting volcanoes release greenhouse gases from deep inside the planet and regular eruptions help to maintain the habitable climate that distinguishes Earth from all other rocky planets.