Why doesn't anyone talk about colonizing Venus instead of Mars?
If you're a fan of astronomy, you should know that Venus is often called Earth's twin, isn't it? After all, it is about the same diameter as our planet, has an orbit similar to ours and has a similar chemical composition as well. Venus still has a metal core surrounded by a mantle of 3, 000 kilometers of molten rock, covered by an average 10 to 20 kilometer crust.
In addition, the surfaces of the two planets are relatively young, both of which have gravity and have thick cloud atmospheres. Mars, on the other hand, has a much less dense atmosphere - about 100 times "thinner" than Earth's - has the longest, most oval orbit among the other planets, is devoid of a full magnetic field and is the stage the largest sandstorms in the solar system.
Benefits
Still on the Venusian atmosphere, according to the people of YouTube's PBS Space Time channel, being much denser than Martian, it would offer greater protection against solar radiation and space rock collisions than Mars. And back to the question of gravity, as on Venus it is much more similar to ours than on the Red Planet, the negative effects for humans - such as the reduction in bone density - would be minor.
Venus is also much closer to the Sun than Mars and therefore has a potential for solar energy four times higher than the Red Planet. Not to mention that Mars is more than 14 million kilometers farther from us than Venus, which means a round trip to the Earth twin would be between 30 and 50% shorter than one between Earth and the Planet. Red.
In the case of manned missions, this proximity would translate into a huge reduction not only in commuting time, but also in investment, as much less food, supplies, and fuel - among other things - would be required to send earthlings to Venus. But ... As you may also know, the Venusian environment is not what we can call cozy.
Challenges
The problem with Venus is that despite all its physical and chemical similarities to Earth, its closer proximity to Mars, and all the apparent advantages related to its dense atmosphere, it is worth remembering that 96.5% of it is composed of carbon dioxide - which prevents heat from escaping from the surface, creating a horrendous greenhouse effect on the planet.
This makes Venus the warmest world in the Solar System, with temperatures around 470 degrees Celsius. To give you an idea, it would be possible to melt lead on the Venusian surface! In addition, the atmospheric pressure there is more than 90 times higher than Earth's - which means that the pressure suffered by an Earthman who decided to take a Venus ride would be equivalent to the perceived 1 kilometer depth in the ocean here on our planet. .
So if on the one hand most of the space rocks that penetrate the atmosphere are vaporized before they have a chance of colliding with the ground, our bodies would be crushed by the pressure. But according to the folks at PBS Space Time, there are ways around these difficulties - and yet it may be that colonization on Venus is viable. Like?
Venus, there we go?
The canal proposes that instead of establishing colonies on the Venusian surface, humans should create habitats far away from it. That's because, at about 50 kilometers above sea level, Venus's temperature is about 70 degrees Celsius - which is quite hot, but much more manageable than the 470 ° recorded on the ground. After all, here on Earth, firefighters have equipment that can withstand more than 2, 000 degrees.
Venusian atmospheric pressure also drops dramatically at 50 kilometers altitude, becoming virtually identical to that of Earth. Therefore, humans would need proper clothing to survive the heat and oxygen masks - dispensing with the clumsy, heavy space suits.
Another important factor is that at 50 kilometers altitude, the Venusian atmosphere remains dense enough that helium-filled balloons - and even terrestrial air itself - can float. Add to that all the gravity of Venus, and it turns out that the higher atmospheric layers can offer the closest ground conditions in the Solar System.
In that case, humans could build cities in the clouds of Venus - and NASA has even created a conceptual project called High Altitude Venus Operational (HAVOC) in case one day colonization of the planet becomes a priority. Also, maybe one day scientists may not find a way to remove carbon from the Venusian atmosphere and find a way to make the environment there more hospitable! And you, what do you think?
* Originally posted on 23/09/2016.
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