Target Venus not Mars for first crewed mission to another planet, experts say

[brooklynite]

The Guardian

With a surface hot enough to melt lead, crushing atmospheric pressure and clouds of sulphuric acid, Venus might not sound like the most enticing destination for human exploration.

But a group of experts are advocating that our other nearest neighbour, rather than Mars, should be the initial target for a crewed mission to another planet.

There are notable downsides. Walking on the surface would be an unsurvivable experience, so astronauts would have to gaze down at the planet from the safety of their spacecraft in a flyby mission.

In its favour, however, Venus is significantly closer, making a return mission doable in a year, compared with a potentially three-year roundtrip to Mars. A flyby would be scientifically valuable and could provide crucial experience of a lengthy deep-space mission as a precursor to visiting Mars, according to a report presented at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Paris last week.

[elleng]

1. 'Venus is significantly closer, making a return mission doable in a year,'

oh sure, return from a hellish environment, EASY!!!

[brooklynite]

2. Per the article, the assumption is that this would be a flyby rather than a landing.

[Bucky]

3. Or establishing an orbital post. Or one that floats above the clouds, like a balloon

Plus waste disposal would be less of a problem if you're floating over venus.

[elleng]

4. Right, very useful: HI, neighbor/BYE, neighbor.

[jmowreader]

5. While a flyby would be scientifically valuable...

…any science obtainable from such a mission could be done with sensors on an uncrewed vehicle.

If they just wanted to gain experience in sustaining people in space for three years, there is a lot of the Moon that hasn’t had anyone on it yet.

[Kid Berwyn]

6. Great idea.

First climb Matterhorn and learn. Then go for Everest.

[dembotoz]

7. we started with a fly by of the moon beflore a landing was tried.

could be a good step towards mars.

I think we have sent way more probes to mars so there is probably all sorts of stuff to learn about venus

[Tetrachloride]

8. I believe none of these will happen. GBTW

[rampartc]

12. not by americans, anyway

i became an engineer thinking that space was the inevitable frontier.

i should have studied mandarin, because the chinese are going, we are not. .

[Takket]

9. there's no future for humanity on Venus.

and flying by it can't tell us anything we don't already know or can't learn from Mars. If there is any future on Mars that is where the missions need to focus. Venus can, has been, and should be studied with robotic missions.

[Chainfire]

10. When we arrive on a planet, the first order of business will be to have a referendum to determine if

the Planet wants to become part of the United States.

[rampartc]

13. the planet will not belong to the united states.

musk is south african, but whichever bulluionaire claims mars, they will not abide any american laws or standards or limits on their power over their colonists.

if an actual nation state arrives there first, i am not betting on the usa being close.

[Chainfire]

14. I generally don't make it a policy to explain a joke, but I will make an exception:

This was a reference to recent news from Ukraine.

[tenderfoot]

11. Space travel for humans is stupid.

eom

[Chainfire]

15. To explore and conquer is who we are as a species.

If we can go long enough without destroying ourselves space travel and occupation of other bodies is inevitable.

[zipplewrath]

22. We have some problems to sort out first

Basically water and oxygen. There are no gas stations in the solar system. No place to stop and fill up on oxygen or water, or hydrogen. There will be losses in a ship and they will need to be addressed. The ISS gets a regular resupply from earth, roughly every 3 months. They can last roughly about 6 without resupply depending upon crew size.

The astronauts also can't be expected to live in zero g for 9 months and then go running around a planet with gravity collecting rocks and digging in the dirt. Their ship will have to have some form of generated gravity.

We are decades away from landing on any distant planets. We will have to build insanely expensive "space stations" to learn how to operate in space for extremely long periods without resupply from earth first. New technologies are probably going to be needed as well. And the number of people required for these missions are going to be larger than what goes up to the ISS.

The cost will be so excessive, I suspect they will have to engage a large international coalition of the 12 or so richest countries to cooperate to build it. How long do you think before that happens?

[Chainfire]

23. All of that plus we don't know if we can fight of Fascism long enough to accomplish anything.

We may be on a repeat trip to the middle ages.

[Jeebo]

16. Life on Venus?

I think I remember reading somewhere that they think there might be some kind of life forms floating around in the upper atmosphere of Venus, above the hellish conditions on the surface.

-- Ron

[Disaffected]

18. IIRC it was found

to be a false positive (or more accurately a false maybe).

[Disaffected]

17. Nonsense.

What possible benefit would there be to putting humans in orbit around Venus (and especially when any applicable science could be just as easily and much more cheaply carried out by unmanned spacecraft)? Maybe they want a human presence to greet any Venusians who might happen drop by??

Human space travel anywhere (Mars included) beyond earth orbit is similarly unnecessary - much more could be accomplished by spending half the amount of money on unmanned craft.

[Chainfire]

24. From a strictly scientific perspective that is totally correct.

When have humans ever done something from a strictly scientific perspective? The space program won't be able to keep funding itself it if can't produce something more exciting than sending another drone to space. We have to get into that cheering phase if we want to continue to move forward. Promise to send a right-winger to the sun, and the money will keep on coming. He can go at night when it isn't so hot.

[tavernier]

19. I'm your Venus

I’m your fire
At your desire.


Yup… Smokin’ !!
Make mine Mars or Pluto. Or maybe one of those moons a
circling Jupiter. That would be a pretty awesome sight from the living room window!

[Hermit-The-Prog]

20. Get better "experts".

[roamer65]

21. Venus could very well make the trip to Mars faster.

Gravity assist or a “sling shot”.

https://www.space.com/mars-astronauts-venus-flyby-idea.html