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A COLONY ABOVE VENUS!
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NASA has had a dream for years now, one that looks doable with the advent of genius Elon Musk. Before Elon, NASA was little more than a think-tank with no reachable or even original goals and dreams. Not since the ill-fated space shuttle programme has NASA delivered anything of note. Now the dreams of the NASA of yesteryear may well come to be reality.
Let’s start with this: NASA wants to build a floating city above the clouds of Venus. Venus exploration has been deemed off-limits due to its inhospitable climate – but NASA believes Cloud City may be the answer. Cloud City would be a city floating above the harmful weather of Venus in the still air above the clouds.
Most space agencies today have focused their attention on Mars and the Moon. At first glance, Mars really doesn't look like the best candidate for colonizing space. Venus, on the other hand, is a whole lot closer to Earth – at a distance ranging between 13.6 and 162 million miles. Compare that to Mars’ 56 to 401 million miles and it’s clear to see that Venus is the ‘nearest neighbour’.
Let’s put this in English so that I can understand what I’m saying: Venus can be as close as 13.6 million miles compared to Mars’ closest distance of 56 million miles. There ya go, it looks like a properly timed trip to Venus would be nearly 42 million miles closer. That’s a lot of distance and about 75% closer which means we can get there in a fraction the time it would take to get to Mars.
Venus is approximately the same size as Earth and has a similar density and chemical composition. But everything else about Venus makes it almost un-visitable. It’s hot. Its atmosphere is filled with burning noxious gases, a description befitting a Dantean Vision.
But: Enter the High Altitude Venus Operational Concept – HAVOC – a spacecraft designed for Venusian exploration. This lighter-than-air rocket would be designed to float above the acidic clouds for about a month, allowing a team of astronauts on board to collect data about the planet's atmosphere.
Above the clouds at an altitude of around 30 miles is a set of conditions remarkably similar to Earth. Its atmospheric pressure is comparable and its gravity is only slightly lower – which would allow for long-term stays. This would eliminate problems found with long-term stays in Zero Gravity. A temperature of around 150 degrees Fahrenheit could be maintained without too much difficulty. While this is a lot hotter than one might deem comfortable, it is manageable.
Finally, the atmosphere at that altitude offers protection from solar radiation comparable to living in Canada. Sadly it can’t protect from the idiocy of Canada’s Parliament or Justin Trudeau. Well, Trudeau or not, it looks like a far more interesting option than Mars.
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I’m Max, and that’s the way I see it!
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