NASA Will Return To Venus To Collect More Information On The Planet

Venus is known to hide a lot of information that could help us understand Earth more and the other exoplanets, as well. Sue Smrekar, a planetary scientist at NASA, expressed her desire to return to Venus. She showed a 30-year-old picture of Venus’ surface shot by the Magellan spacecraft.

The photo indicates a wicked view of a growing area with more volcanoes than any other cosmic feature in the solar system, towering mountain belts, massive fissures, and temperatures so hot that could melt metal. Smrekar explained how she believes that Venus is something more like Earth’s control case. Sue Smrekar said: “We believe they started with the same composition, the same water, and carbon dioxide. And they’ve gone down two completely different paths.”

The planetary scientist began a collaboration with the Venus Exploration Analysis Group (VEXAG), a team formed by many scientists and engineers. Even if their strategies differ, the team agrees that Venus could indicate something significantly about Earth.

NASA Will Return To Venus To Collect More Information On The Planet

The team started with a question such as ‘what occurred to the superheated environment of our planetary doppelgänger, and what does it suggest for life on our planet.’ Venus isn’t the nearest planet to the Sunt, but it is indeed the hottest one. Between the extreme temperature (900 degrees Fahrenheit), the sulfuric acid vapors, and a crushing atmosphere that is 90 times thicker than Earth’s, docking a spacecraft there is very hard.

Of the nine Soviet probes that succeeded in reaching the area, none endured longer than 127 minutes. An orbiter, however, could utilize radar and close-infrared spectroscopy to peer beneath the bubble layers, measure landscape variations over time, and conclude whether or not the area flows.

It could also find some insights into past water as well as volcanic action and some additional forces that may have formed Venus. Smrekar also talked about the possibility of an air balloon mission. She detailed: “There is no commissioned mission for a balloon at Venus yet, but balloons are a great way to explore Venus because the atmosphere is so thick and the surface is so harsh.”