Venus, our Hellish Sister

Hans Cummings

November 26, 2012

I'm all for Mars exploration and the exploration of the myriad moons in our solar system, but I would love to see us try to adapt our deep sea exploration technology to further explore Venus. The planet that was once known as "Earth's Twin" seems to have been pushed to the wayside ever since the landings in the 70s when we discovered what a harsh, hellish place it is. But now, at the beginning of the 21st century, we should return to Venus and explore a world ravaged by a runaway greenhouse effect. What secrets lie beneath the clouds? Could humans adapt technology to explore the atmosphere at the 50km point where the temperatures and pressures are comfortable to us? Should we? Venus is many things: a goddess of love and fertility, the Morningstar, the Evening Star, and has not had our attention for far too long.

Comments:

Ian Miller: 11/27/2012 08:01 CST

Three problems for the surface. Pressure, possibly overcome by having something inside a rover that gives a counter pressure at that temperature, on the inside. A power source that will operate at those temperatures and pressures, if necessary. Finally, an outer shell totally unreactive towards sulphuric acid at that temperature, but with enough flexibility for the rover to be able to do something with it.