We haven’t even laid eyes on the surface of Venus yet, but that’s not deterring NASA from daydreaming about sending manned missions to the planet. Although much of Venus is still a completely mystery, we do know that the surface of the planet is far too hot, and the atmospheric pressure too high, to sustain human life. As such, rather than targeting the planet itself, NASA is shooting for the clouds: the space agency recently announced its intention to send the robotic airship HAVOC (High Altitude Venus Operational Concept) to collect initial observations before delving into the planning of a manned mission.
Up until now, the only information we’ve been able to get about our “sister planet” has been via Earth-based observation and robotic probes on the planet’s surface, so it’ll be exciting to find out how much more detail the HAVOC airship will be able to glean.If these missions don’t work out, perhaps we can just send Lady Gaga there instead, per her request.
Images © NASA, and via Shutterstock, and Wikimedia Creative Commons
