Venus was once thought to be similar in conditions to Earth and is a similar size. But over the course of its 4.6 billion year history, greenhouse gasses have taken its toll on the boiling hot planet which is now even hotter than Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun.
Temperatures on Venus exceed 460 degrees Celsius thanks to volcanic activity and a thick, heavy atmosphere that is full of carbon dioxide.
However, above the toxic atmosphere is part of an atmosphere which is similar to ours, full of carbon dioxide, oxygen and nitrogen.
This is why humanity could live aboard "floating habitats" above Venus, according to one scientist.
It would make sense for several reasons; firstly because Venus has been described as once being Earth's twin, and secondly because it is much closer to Earth than Mars is.
At its closest point, Mars is 34.6 million miles from Earth, while Venus on the other hand can be just 23.7 million miles from our planet.
Speaking in the documentary Venus: Death of a Planet, Geoffrey Landis, engineer and scientist at NASA's Glenn Research Center, said: "You could float habitats in the atmosphere of Venus.
"And the habitats could be very large. They could be kilometres in scale.
"You wouldn't even need hydrogen or helium. Because the atmosphere of Venus is mostly carbon dioxide, oxygen and nitrogen ordinary breathable air would float.
READ MORE:Venus discovery: Major finding reveals planet is not as dead as though
"The air that's holding you up is also the air that you can breathe. The lifting gas is your environment."
Others, however, see the idea as a bit fanciful.
Jonathan Sauder, senior mechatronics engineer at JPL, said: "I love the idea of a human crewed mission to a cloud city on Venus.
"You would just need to wear some type of suit that would provide you with oxygen to breathe as well as protection from the chemical air.
DON'T MISSVenus at night: How to see the RARE alignment of Venus in PleiadesNASA news: Space agency wants YOU to design the next Venus roverRussia plots Mars conquest as it sets sights on Red Planet colony
"But you wouldn't necessarily need a pressure suit. Humans tend to not like the idea of not being able to be on firm ground.
"And the idea that you have to stay floating above this furnace essentially, in some ways is a hard sell!"
There are other issues concerning humanity living on Venus.
Temperatures on Venus exceed 460 degrees Celsius thanks to the thick, poisonous atmosphere that is full of carbon dioxide leading to an extreme greenhouse gas effect.
At that temperature, which is hotter than Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, there is no liquid on Venus of any kind, making the prospect of life impossible by current scientific understanding.
See the article here:
Forget Mars, humans should head to Venus and live in the clouds - scientist - Daily Express
- There Might Be Ocean World Planets Within the Milky Way, Planetary Scientist Claims - Science Times - June 22nd, 2020 [June 22nd, 2020]
- 10 Worst Movies By Great Horror Directors, According To Rotten Tomatoes - Screen Rant - June 22nd, 2020 [June 22nd, 2020]
- Space Perspective is a startup that wants to balloon you toward space - Business Insider - Business Insider - June 22nd, 2020 [June 22nd, 2020]
- Space Outside, Sexism Inside: Mary Robinette Kowals The Relentless Moon - Den of Geek - July 13th, 2020 [July 13th, 2020]
- Here are the three missions to Mars that are happening this month - CTV News - July 14th, 2020 [July 14th, 2020]
- My Coronavirus Summer 2020 Reading List - The National Interest - July 16th, 2020 [July 16th, 2020]
- U.A.E. Mars mission from Japan delayed again by weather - CTV News - July 16th, 2020 [July 16th, 2020]
- How Perseverance will Search for Life on Mars - The Planetary Society - July 16th, 2020 [July 16th, 2020]
- Teen's mission to be first person to walk on Mars - WISHTV.com - July 18th, 2020 [July 18th, 2020]
- The Expanse Season 5 Cast, Trailer And What Can We Expect? - World Top Trend - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- Five Scientific Achievements That Happened During Coronavirus Lockdown - Smithsonian Magazine - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- UAE Mars mission brings hope amid challenging year - The National - July 19th, 2020 [July 19th, 2020]
- Is there life on Mars? - The Economist - July 22nd, 2020 [July 22nd, 2020]
- Wilkin: Never a Saratoga opening day like this one - Times Union - July 23rd, 2020 [July 23rd, 2020]
- Flamingos in Abu Dhabi: are the birds thriving because humans backed off? - The National - July 23rd, 2020 [July 23rd, 2020]
- 10 things you need to know today: July 20, 2020 - The Week Magazine - July 24th, 2020 [July 24th, 2020]
- Guide to the classics: H.G. Wells' 'The War Of The Worlds' - The Star Online - July 26th, 2020 [July 26th, 2020]
- Colonizing our solar system will make our species very hard to eliminate - The Next Web - July 26th, 2020 [July 26th, 2020]
- Learning From Ben Franklin and Henk Rogers We Could Thrive - Newsmax - July 26th, 2020 [July 26th, 2020]
- Mars Lays Red Carpet: Three Earthly Visitors Take Flight Towards the Red Planet Within 11 Days - The Weather Channel - July 26th, 2020 [July 26th, 2020]
- Alyssa Carson: The teenager on a mission to Mars - Siliconrepublic.com - July 28th, 2020 [July 28th, 2020]
- Elon Musk drops details for SpaceX Mars mega-colony - CNET - July 28th, 2020 [July 28th, 2020]
- Planet Earth Report Global Pandemic is a Hinge in History to Havens for Ancient Alien Life - The Daily Galaxy --Great Discoveries Channel - July 29th, 2020 [July 29th, 2020]
- Weekly Digest (July 20-24, 2020): Top Weather, Environment and Science Stories of the Week - The Weather Channel - July 29th, 2020 [July 29th, 2020]
- February looks to be exciting month for Mars exploration - The Robesonian - July 29th, 2020 [July 29th, 2020]
- Man wanting to go to Mars isolates for 366 days in tiny home with 5 others as part of study - CBS17.com - July 29th, 2020 [July 29th, 2020]
- Top news of the day: Saifuddin Soz claims he is kept under house arrest without formal orders; Jaya Jaitly gets four years in jail in corruption case... - July 30th, 2020 [July 30th, 2020]
- To Infinity And Beyond - farmingdale-observer.com - July 31st, 2020 [July 31st, 2020]
- Man wanting to go to Mars isolates for 366 days in tiny habitat with 5 others as part of study - CBS17.com - July 31st, 2020 [July 31st, 2020]
- Government moves from one 'emergency' to the next - The Republic - July 31st, 2020 [July 31st, 2020]
- NASA To Use Nuclear Power Can Help Colonize Moon And Mars. Is It Worth It? - Inventiva - July 31st, 2020 [July 31st, 2020]
- Elon Musk selling LA homes and dreams of move to 'self-sustaining' Mars colony - Daily Star - July 31st, 2020 [July 31st, 2020]
- Nuclear power plants could power colonies on the Moon and Mars - SlashGear - July 31st, 2020 [July 31st, 2020]
- To infinity and beyond: Sex dolls in space could be a reality for Mars 2024 mission - IOL - July 31st, 2020 [July 31st, 2020]
- A Space Alliance Between the Quads: The United States, Japan, Australia, and India - International Policy Digest - August 2nd, 2020 [August 2nd, 2020]
- Suncream made of skin pigment will help shield astronauts from lethal x-ray radiation, scientists suggest - The Independent - August 4th, 2020 [August 4th, 2020]
- How to Feed a Mars Colony of 1 Million People | Space - August 7th, 2020 [August 7th, 2020]
- Mars Colony: Frontier on Steam - August 7th, 2020 [August 7th, 2020]
- At Night, the Martian Sky Pulses and Glows When Viewed in Ultraviolet Light - Gizmodo - August 7th, 2020 [August 7th, 2020]
- From emperor penguins to 96-year-old graduates, here's the good news this week - iNews - August 8th, 2020 [August 8th, 2020]
- At Night, the Martian Sky Pulses and Glows When Viewed in Ultraviolet Light - Gizmodo UK - August 8th, 2020 [August 8th, 2020]
- UAE Hopes to Inspire Next Generation with Arab World's First Mission to Mars - The Washington Diplomat - August 8th, 2020 [August 8th, 2020]
- Life on Mars: Lava tubes could be key to Mars colony - 'Extraordinary for settlement' - Daily Express - August 8th, 2020 [August 8th, 2020]
- At Night, the Martian Sky Pulses and Glows When Viewed in Ultraviolet Light - Gizmodo Australia - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- Lovecraft Country and HP Lovecraft's racism: how the HBO series and the novel it's based on reappropriate the author's work. - Slate - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- Creating your own video games isnt impossible this training can get you on the path - Boing Boing - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- 9 Ways To Spend A Beautiful Fall Weekend In Flagstaff - TravelAwaits - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- Learn How To Build Your Own Strategy Based Video Game With These Online Classes - ExtremeTech - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- Life on Mars: Scientists identify the 'extraordinary' key to colonising Mars - Daily Express - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- All the Reasons Why Humans Shouldn't Colonize Mars ... - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- Five steps to colonising Mars - BBC Future - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- Goodbye Mars One, The Fake Mission To Mars That Fooled The ... - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- How Do We Colonize Mars? - Universe Today - August 10th, 2020 [August 10th, 2020]
- VIDEO: Stray Cats Spotted at EPCOT - Inside the Magic - September 8th, 2020 [September 8th, 2020]
- Expanse: The Real-Life Inspirations Behind The Belters - Screen Rant - September 8th, 2020 [September 8th, 2020]
- Per Aspera is Massive and Its Depiction of Mars is Fantastic - COGconnected - September 8th, 2020 [September 8th, 2020]
- Elon Musk and SpaceX's Mars mission may be difficult - Somag News - September 8th, 2020 [September 8th, 2020]
- Is now the time to explore the final frontier of investing? - The National - September 8th, 2020 [September 8th, 2020]
- #SpaceWatchGL Column: The hell of humans in heaven - Debating the risks of space technology and habitation - SpaceWatch.Global - October 30th, 2020 [October 30th, 2020]
- Mohammed bin Rashid announces second satellite to be built by an all-Emirati team - WAM EN - October 30th, 2020 [October 30th, 2020]
- There's water on the moon's sunlit surface. Colonization could be on the horizon. - News@Northeastern - October 30th, 2020 [October 30th, 2020]
- The five biggest effects Trump has had on the US space program - MIT Technology Review - October 30th, 2020 [October 30th, 2020]
- Elon Musks SpaceX will make its own laws on Mars - The Independent - October 30th, 2020 [October 30th, 2020]
- Civilization 6: How to Win as Babylon (Tips, Tricks, & Strategies) - Screen Rant - December 24th, 2020 [December 24th, 2020]
- The Midnight Sky ending explained - what happened to Earth? - digitalspy.com - December 24th, 2020 [December 24th, 2020]
- Balkan mystic predicts world will see 'cataclysms and disasters' - Metro.co.uk - December 24th, 2020 [December 24th, 2020]
- For NASA, It Should Be Mars or Bust - The Wall Street Journal - December 24th, 2020 [December 24th, 2020]
- How AI Will Help the U.S. to Mars and Beyond - Nextgov - December 24th, 2020 [December 24th, 2020]
- Chimpanzees are important and accomplished tracing the path to space - Amico Hoops - February 1st, 2021 [February 1st, 2021]
- Team Behind Space Probe Headed To Mars Includes Staff From CU Boulder - Yahoo News - February 1st, 2021 [February 1st, 2021]
- How Elon Musk And A Mission To Mars Might Boost Internet Speeds In Rural Kansas - KCUR - February 1st, 2021 [February 1st, 2021]
- Advice From Tesla's Elon Musk: Forget The Money, Ignore Critics, Think Big - InsideEVs - February 1st, 2021 [February 1st, 2021]
- Newly Invented Fusion Rocket Thruster Concept Might be Our Ticket to Mars and Beyond! - Tech Times - February 4th, 2021 [February 4th, 2021]
- NASA and CSA Will Give $500,000 To The Best Idea of Food Production In Space - Science Times - February 4th, 2021 [February 4th, 2021]
- Jeff Bezos Renews Focus on Blue Origin, Which Has Been Slower to Launch - The New York Times - February 4th, 2021 [February 4th, 2021]
- Opinion | Why Biden must pursue space diplomacy with Russia and China - Politico - February 4th, 2021 [February 4th, 2021]
- "The Expanse" shows the dangers of treating extremism as a joke - Salon - February 4th, 2021 [February 4th, 2021]
- End of the world: Elon Musk warns of 'civilisation collapse' if we don't leave Earth soon - Daily Express - February 4th, 2021 [February 4th, 2021]
- Elon Musk opens up about Mars, Gamestop and Dogecoin | Heres everything he said - Republic World - February 4th, 2021 [February 4th, 2021]
- Crayolas sprawling new exhibit launches at Franklin Institute with creativity on the brain (PHOTOS) - lehighvalleylive.com - February 20th, 2021 [February 20th, 2021]