4 ms·
Venus still deserves another atmospheric probe. The last time we sent an atmospheric probe was 1985[0] and tech has greatly improved since then. Still, it is ha
by gene-h 6y ago
Venus still deserves another atmospheric probe. The last time we sent an atmospheric probe was 1985[0] and tech has greatly improved since then. Still, it is hard to get funding for such missions because such missions do not last much more than a couple hours. However, even such a short mission could have great scientific return.
Sending better and more sensitive instruments could solve long standing questions about Venus even if the instruments do not live long. For example, a big question is whether Venus had large amounts of water this could be answered by determining if Venus has granite.
Granite can only form in the presence of water. We have found terrain on Venus that could maybe be granite. Just sending back enough data to confirm for sure that it is or not answers many questions about Venus.
Unfortunately, such terrain is quite extreme so sending a mission there is risky[1]
[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vega_2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vega_2
[1]http://ia800304.us.archive.org/35/items/VenusIntrepidTesseraLanderConceptStudy/03_Venus_Intrepid_Tessera_Lander.pdf http://ia800304.us.archive.org/35/items/VenusIntrepidTessera...
- ant6n 6y agoIt would be cool to have a scientific balloon on Venus. At the height where the pressure is 1 bar, at 50km, the temperature is mild, and the winds there would carry a balloon around the planet every 4 days. Perhaps a long tether could be used to pick up due to study. O2 is a lifting gas on Venus, which could be made in situ from the CO2 in the Venus atmosphere.
- ericbarrett 6y agoIt would be incredible if we could pull this off, but the probe would still be floating in an 85% sulfuric acid concentration. Since H2SO4 is highly reactive with most metals, as well as an oxidizer, it’s an enormous challenge.
- gene-h 6y agoThe sulfuric acid on Venus is not that concentrated in the air. The clouds on Venus are much thinner than you would think and the thickest ones are believed to be similar to cirrus clouds on earth. Not to mention, we've already sent balloon probes to Venus[0]. The limiting factor was battery life. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vega_program#Balloon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vega_program#Balloon
- gene-h 6y agoWe unfortunately get more scientific value out of a falling probe because you can get atmospheric composition from deployment all the way to the ground. Some quite strange phenomena may be happening closer to the ground. There is evidence that Venus' atmosphere is not uniformly mixed, which may be a result of the lower atmosphere being supercritical CO2[0]. The lower atmosphere is also hotter than the melting point of some metals, so it may be possible to find them in the air. [0]https://www.sciencenews.org/article/unlike-earth-venus-gases-atmosphere-are-not-uniformly-mixed https://www.sciencenews.org/article/unlike-earth-venus-gases...