NASA is Working on a Conceptual Human-Crewed Mission to Venus
Although Venus is probably not the number one destination for aspiring space tourists due to it being a hellish world of infernal temperatures, with a corrosive, toxic atmosphere and intense pressures at the surface, NASA is presently working on a conceptual human-crewed mission to Venus, called the High Altitude Venus Operational Concept or HAVOC.
This mission could prove useful to Asgardia as they work toward creating a demilitarized and free scientific base of knowledge in space.
Temperatures on the planet’s surface are approximately 460 degrees Celsius, which is hotter than Mercury, even though Venus is roughly double the distance from the sun. This is higher than the melting point of many metals including bismuth and lead, which might also fall as “snow” onto the higher mountain peaks. The surface is a barren rocky landscape made up of extensive plains of basaltic rock sprinkled with volcanic features, and several continent-scale mountainous areas.
What’s more, Venus is geologically young, since it underwent catastrophic resurfacing events. Such extreme events were the result of a build-up of heat below the surface, which eventually caused it to melt, release heat and then re-solidify.
Fortunately, the concept behind NASA’s new mission is not to land people on the harrowing surface, but to use the dense atmosphere as a base for exploration. As of now, no actual date for a HAVOC type mission has been publicly set. This mission is a long-term plan and will depend on the success of small test missions first.
But with current technology, this kind of mission is possible. The plan is to use airships which can stay aloft in the upper atmosphere for long periods of time.
Although this may seem surprising, the upper atmosphere of Venus is the most Earth-like region in the solar system. With altitudes between 50 km and 60 km, the pressure and temperature are comparable to areas of the Earth’s lower atmosphere. The atmospheric pressure in the Venusian atmosphere at 55 km is approximately half that of the pressure at sea level on Earth. In fact, a human would be fine without a pressure suit, as this is about equivalent to the air pressure you would encounter at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. What’s more, a human would not need to insulate themselves because the temperature here ranges between 20 degrees Celsius and 30 degrees Celsius.
Moreover, the atmosphere above this altitude is dense enough to protect astronauts from ionizing radiation from space. Since the sun is also closer, it offers an even greater abundance of available solar radiation than on Earth, which can be used to produce power (approximately 1.4 times greater).
For the mission, the conceptual airship would float around Venus, blown by the wind. It could also be filled with a breathable gas mixture like oxygen and nitrogen, to give buoyancy. This is possible since breathable air is less dense than the Venusian atmosphere and would thus be a lifting gas.
The Venusian atmosphere is made up of 97 percent carbon dioxide, around 3 percent nitrogen and small amounts of other gases. It famously contains a sprinkling of sulphuric acid which makes dense clouds and is a significant contributor to its visible brightness when seen from Earth. Venus reflects some 75 percent of the light that falls onto it from the sun. This highly reflective cloud layer exists between 45 km and 65 km, with a haze of sulphuric acid droplets underneath down to about 30 km. Therefore, an airship design would need to be able to withstand the corrosive effect of this acid.
Many commercially available materials, such as Teflon and various plastics, have a high acidic resistance and could be used for the outer envelope of the airship. With all these factors, it could be possible for a human to go for a walk on a platform outside the airship, carrying only their air supply and wearing a chemical hazard suit.
Although Venus is our closest planetary neighbour, we still know relatively little about it. Thus, sending a mission to Venus will help us understand the evolution of the solar system and maybe even that of other star systems.
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