Venus is Important. We Should Take its Exploration Seriously.
When it comes to exploring our planetary neighbours, Mars tends to get a lot of the attention. For one thing its easier to explore as the environment is far less hostile than other planets but it also offers the tantalising possibility of finding evidence of primitive life, past or present! Venus however is still a fascinating world and perhaps one that gives us a glimpse into our future if we don’t do something to check global warming. A team of scientists are proposing an official Venus Exploration Program for NASA similar to the existing Mars program.
Venus is the second planet from the Sun and has often been referred to as Earth’s twin! This is chiefly due to its similar size and composition however, despite these similarities, Venus and Earth are worlds apart! Its thick carbon dioxide atmosphere traps heat causing the surface temperature to rocket to just under 500 degrees. It’s surface is hidden beneath thick clouds of sulfuric acid, and its atmospheric pressure is about 90 times that of Earth’s. There is no doubt, Venus is not somewhere you would want to go on your cosmic holidays. Despite all of this, and despite the challenges, Venus does remain a fascinating place to study.
Following a recommendation that NASA should develop scientific exploration strategies as it has for Mars; VEXAG, the Venus Exploration Analysis Group, was established. This community-driven initiative has been established by NASA to facilitate and provide scientific and mission support and planning to the exploration of one of our nearest planetary neighbours. VEXAG is composed of researchers, planners and engineers whose goal is to assess various scientific objectives to inform NASAs future mission to Venus.
