Contents
The idea of a space mission to Mars has not faded in the minds of mankind for several decades. However, some scientists recommend paying attention to Venus first. Understanding their arguments
That terrible Venus
Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system, its surface temperature is stable around 370 ºC. Its atmosphere is almost entirely CO2. Clouds of sulfuric acid rain down on a volcanic landscape of sharp rocks and hardened lava. The pressure on Venus is 92 times that of Earth at sea level. All this makes one doubt that it is expedient to send people there. However, a group of experts from a number of American universities, including Johns Hopkins, advocates that it is Venus, and not Mars, that should be the target for the first human mission to another planet. They presented this view in a presentation at the International Astronautical Congress in Paris at the end of September 2022.
Mars mission rehearsal
In favor of Venus is the fact that it is much closer (61 million km versus 225 million km). This makes it possible to complete a flight in a year compared to a potentially three-year trip to Mars. However, walking on its surface is an impossible test, so astronauts will have to observe the planet from a spacecraft, flying around it in orbit.
A flyby of Venus will be valuable from a scientific point of view and can provide the most important experience of a long-term mission to deep space. This will set the stage for visiting Mars. Dr. Noam Eisenberg of the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University said: “Venus has gotten a bad rap because it has such a complex surface. NASA’s current main goal is to fly from the Moon to Mars. We’re trying to justify Venus as an additional marker along the way.”
Test flight in front of Mars
Noam Eisenberg notes that purely practical arguments speak in favor of a flight to Venus before a mission to Mars. Even though it is in the “opposite” direction from the Red Planet, a Venus flyby lesson could help reduce travel time and fuel. The scientist emphasizes: “We will learn how people work in deep space without taking responsibility for a full-fledged flight to Mars. Moreover, the journey will have a certain prestige as humanity will visit another planet for the first time.”
Encounter with the goddess
The discovery of thousands of distant exoplanets raises the question of how many could be habitable. Scientists want to understand how and why Venus, so similar to Earth in size, mass and distance from the Sun, turned into an uninhabited hellish nightmare.
A flyby of Venus has yet to resonate with the scientific community, Eisenberg said, although NASA has supporters of the idea, including chief economist Alexander MacDonald. They recently co-authored a report titled “Encounter with the Goddess” in which they argued for a hypothetical mission. It speculates that astronauts could send remotely operated rovers, drones and hot air balloons to monitor active volcanoes on Venus and look for signs of water and ancient life. The report emphasizes: “There is every reason to believe that Venus will prove to be an endless wonderland with alluring landscapes.”
Opponents of the idea
Of course, not everyone agrees with such an idealistic concept. “Venus is really not a very pleasant place. It’s a hellish environment and there are some serious challenges ahead for the mission,” said Professor Andrew Coates, an astronaut scientist at the University of California. He noted that Venus can be an object of scientific research, but it is absolutely not necessary to send people there.