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I've long also thought Venus was undervalued as a destination, mostly for the air and temperature reasons you listed. I didn't know about your other bullets so

by c22 9y ago

I've long also thought Venus was undervalued as a destination, mostly for the air and temperature reasons you listed. I didn't know about your other bullets so thanks for the info. I wonder why we haven't seen more focus on the yellow planet.

everdev 9y ago
One guess would be that people enjoy visuals and scenery. On Mars, there are landscapes, sunsets, and the stars. From a think Venus atmosphere, I'm not sure what the view would look like, but I'm guessing it would be pretty consistent and confining. Traveling through a cloud in an airplane is fun for a few minutes because of how unique it is, but seeing the ground feels more enjoyable and inspiring to me.
- cyrus_ 9y ago
  Good points! I'm not sure how interesting the clouds would look. There is definitely some dynamic behavior there, including electrical storms, and you'd have a day-night cycle spanning 4 days total, not due to the rotation of Venus but rather the atmospheric dynamics. Also keep in mind that due to the dangers of radiation, the denizens of a lunar or Martian colony would not be outside that often. The most realistic plans I've seen actually have the habitats completely underground (e.g. in lava tubes on the moon [1]). Certainly a few of the colonists will leave on science missions with some frequency, but the vast majority of the time people will be inside and underground, albeit probably tele-operating mining equipment and things like that in many cases. I think if you think big enough, in both cases the problem isn't that bad: being in an underground habitat / cloud habitat the size of a small town will feel like you're on solid ground, not like you're in an airplane in the clouds / in a cave. Artists and architects can design artificial landscape to keep things from being boring. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_lava_tube#Sites_for_human_habitats https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_lava_tube#Sites_for_huma...
  - stevedonovan 9y ago
    Judging from the happiness of my fellow city dwellers when they hang out in the mall, I suspect that colonists would not mind being inside as long as there was enough shopping.
- gsich 9y ago
  Reaching Venus is also much harder then reaching Mars. See: https://i.imgur.com/SqdzxzF.png https://i.imgur.com/SqdzxzF.png
  - hackeraccount 9y ago
    Dang it. Totally beaten to the punch.
  - jccooper 9y ago
    Getting to Venus is somewhat easier with good mission design, utilizing aero effects. Getting back is notably harder.

by c22 9y ago

everdev 9y ago

One guess would be that people enjoy visuals and scenery. On Mars, there are landscapes, sunsets, and the stars. From a think Venus atmosphere, I'm not sure what the view would look like, but I'm guessing it would be pretty consistent and confining. Traveling through a cloud in an airplane is fun for a few minutes because of how unique it is, but seeing the ground feels more enjoyable and inspiring to me.

cyrus_ 9y ago
Good points! I'm not sure how interesting the clouds would look. There is definitely some dynamic behavior there, including electrical storms, and you'd have a day-night cycle spanning 4 days total, not due to the rotation of Venus but rather the atmospheric dynamics. Also keep in mind that due to the dangers of radiation, the denizens of a lunar or Martian colony would not be outside that often. The most realistic plans I've seen actually have the habitats completely underground (e.g. in lava tubes on the moon [1]). Certainly a few of the colonists will leave on science missions with some frequency, but the vast majority of the time people will be inside and underground, albeit probably tele-operating mining equipment and things like that in many cases. I think if you think big enough, in both cases the problem isn't that bad: being in an underground habitat / cloud habitat the size of a small town will feel like you're on solid ground, not like you're in an airplane in the clouds / in a cave. Artists and architects can design artificial landscape to keep things from being boring. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_lava_tube#Sites_for_human_habitats https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_lava_tube#Sites_for_huma...
- stevedonovan 9y ago
  Judging from the happiness of my fellow city dwellers when they hang out in the mall, I suspect that colonists would not mind being inside as long as there was enough shopping.
gsich 9y ago
Reaching Venus is also much harder then reaching Mars. See: https://i.imgur.com/SqdzxzF.png https://i.imgur.com/SqdzxzF.png
- hackeraccount 9y ago
  Dang it. Totally beaten to the punch.
- jccooper 9y ago
  Getting to Venus is somewhat easier with good mission design, utilizing aero effects. Getting back is notably harder.