NASA scientists say they want to focus on Venus for a potential mission that would see ground robots, atmospheric planes and an orbiting manned spacecraft involved in the possible future mission, according to
Softpedia.
This latest proposal would be the first time that astronauts would be able to collect samples directly from the surface of Venus and to better understand Earth’s own atmosphere and climate because the two planets are similar in size.
“Recently there has been a renaissance in looking at proposals to study Venus,” said Geoffrey A. Landis at NASA’s John Glenn Research Center, reports
Space. “One very good reason is that there has been a renewed interest in study of the atmospheres and climates of planets, and – being the planet that is most like the Earth in size – learning more about the atmosphere of Venus may help us learn more about the atmosphere (and climate) of the Earth.”
However, do not expect humans to land on Venus because the temperatures and pressures of the planet are too hot for human life, “Venus is so hostile that we're not likely to land humans on it anytime in the foreseeable future,” said Landis.
NASA plans to hold a meeting in August to discuss a future probe to Venus.
