First Human Settlement: Venus?
By Aika Lanes
For thousands of years, exploring distant worlds full of wonders unlike those ever seen have been the dreams of philosophers, adventurers, story-tellers, and artists alike. Here in the 21st century, society is presented with an entire universe of countless worlds to explore, each with their own unique marvels and characteristics. In our own Solar System, humanity is placed in the middle of two potentially beneficial planets within the habitable zone for settlement. Named after the Roman god of war and goddess of beauty, Mars and Venus are worlds rich with pasts that continue to capture the interest of dreamers across Earth ever since the days of telling legends through the night sky. Humanity has already begun its exploration of both planets by sending spacecraft and probes to learn more about their features, composition, and geologic processes. However, space agencies have taken a greater interest in Mars, sending more robotic explorers in the red planet’s direction with NASA hoping to send the first humans to its surface in 2033 (Lou & Griggs, 2019). Despite the benefits of equally continuing to explore and work to settle both planets, the cloudy planet of Venus has fallen out of favor with many scientists. The exploration and settlement of Venus offers insight into the origins of life, understanding of the processes on Earth, and the development of technology. It would be beneficial to scientists to find ways to explore Venus alongside the exploration of Mars.
Understanding The Origins of Life through Data from Venus
Collecting more information about the past of Venus can help strengthen the understanding of the origins of life. Venus orbits the Sun close to the inner edge of the habitable zone (NASA, 2022). According to NASA, in the past, Venus’s unforgiving environment may have been a haven for up to two billion years in its ancient history with habitable surface temperatures and shallow oceans of water (Cabbage & McCarthy, 2016). It is also nearly the same size and density as humanity’s home planet, earning its title of Earth’s “sister planet.” If this is the case, scientists can find what conditions must have been different or similar for life to arise on Earth. An understanding of the formation and development of planets in the Solar System may be gained by analyzing chemical compositions of the surface and atmosphere. Additionally, even though Venus is a harsh environment with high temperatures, pressure, and harmful levels of sulfuric acid, microorganisms on Earth called extremophiles are known to thrive in these conditions (Exploring the Larger, n.d.). There is a possibility of being able to find similar extremophiles on Venus, particularly considering Venus most likely had an ideal environment for life for a couple billion years. The chances of finding life on the surface today are low. However, life can exist underground or in the prevalent clouds of the planet. Astronomers at MIT have even discovered phosphine in the clouds of Venus, a compound known to only be made through biotic processes (Chu, 2020). This discovery may be an indicator of potential life in the clouds of Venus. Even if this is not the case, scientists can possibly learn about a novel abiotic process that is capable of producing phosphine.
Understanding Earth’s Geology Better by Studying Venus
Studying Venus’s atmosphere and its geological processes can help scientists gain a better understanding of cause-and-effect relationships on Earth. Plate tectonics on Venus can help scientists deduce what conditions are required for them to develop (Hall, 2019). A location on Venus called the Artemis corona is recognized as a potential site of subduction as it is similar to the curve and geography of the Alutian trench on Earth. Additionally, the atmosphere and climate of Venus can provide insight into the effects of certain changes on the planet. For example, scientists can use Venus as a clear model of how a runaway greenhouse effect can impact a planet through extreme temperatures and pressure. Furthermore, solutions to global warming on Earth such as dispersing a layer of sulfuric acid droplets that can cool the atmosphere can be logically considered when looking at how the evaporated sulfuric acid droplets affected the atmosphere of Venus (Venus Holds Warning, 2010). Sending humans to the planet means gathering the data to understand more about how processes and conditions may affect humanity’s home planet.
Settling Venus can help boost advancements in technology. While agencies continue to send probes, rovers, and orbiters to Mars leading up to human settlement, it is beneficial to do the same for Venus. These robots allow for scientists to gain better understandings of planet conditions before developing a human mission. If scientists can map a detailed chemical composition of the clouds and atmosphere and identify other factors that may affect a mission using robots, agencies can work to develop solutions to ensure the success of manned missions while finding ways to improve designs and materials to be used. Sending more missions to Venus also means agencies can better determine the effectiveness of different operational concepts such as airships or heat and pressure resistant technologies. Not only will this accelerate humanity’s reach to Venus but expand the variety of tools and systems available to agencies for use across different areas of space exploration. Geoffrey Landis studied the strategy of using airships to colonize Venus in its atmosphere. The atmosphere of Venus is 96.5% carbon dioxide, which is heavier than the air on Earth (Comparing Planetary Gases, n.d.). Since the air on Earth is lighter, if airships are simply filled with Earth-air or a light element such as helium, airships should easily float in the sky of Venus (Becker, 2016). A one-kilometer wide balloon for an airship would be able to hold up to 700,000 tons of weight 50 kilometers in the air. Using concepts such as this for a Venusian settlement, scientists can find new ways to improve the quality of life for settlers and develop new technologies to sustain life on another planet while carrying out research missions.
On the other hand, Venus is a difficult planet for humans to settle due to its high atmospheric pressure, temperature, and clouds of sulfuric acid. The air pressure on the surface is almost 90 times greater than that of sea level on Earth. Surface temperatures of Venus average at about 450℃ (842℉) due to the atmosphere composition of mostly greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide that led to a runaway greenhouse effect. Furthermore, the planet has sulfuric acid clouds that have the potential to burn human skin and damage equipment. Since Venus has many hazards to overcome, it may be best to forget about Venus for now.
However, any planet is difficult to settle, and that does not mean that sending humans to Venus is impossible. Mars has violent dust storms, little protection from solar radiation, toxic dust, cold temperatures, and weaker gravity. Nonetheless, humanity still continues to explore the Martian world with robots and orbiters while finding ways to mitigate various problems that arise. Missions are being planned to send humans to settle Mars. Similarly, problems that arise on Venus can be mitigated. Scientists are working on designs such as HAVOC, or the High Altitude Venus Operational Concept, to send humans to the planet. HAVOC utilizes materials that are resistant to the acidic atmosphere to build a solar-powered airship that floats at around thirty miles above the rocky surface where there are the closest conditions to Earth’s surface in the entirety of the Solar System (Judd, 2022). Additionally, there is an area where temperatures range from 30℉ to 200℉ with similar atmospheric pressures to Earth 48 to 60 kilometers above the surface where human settlement would be ideal. Scientists have come up with innovative solutions to lengthen and strengthen missions to Venus in the 42 years from the time of the last Venera lander on Venus in 1981 (Williams, n.d.). With new solutions such as settling the skies rather than the surface, it will become easier to allow for more complex missions and solve problems as technology advances.
Choosing Venus Over Mars?
Mars may seem more inviting than Venus due to its less lethal surface, but Venus offers high hopes for space travelers with an Earth-like place to settle not on the ground, but in the sky. Both of these planets have helped shape society’s understanding on planetary development, climate change, and geological and atmospheric processes. Both planets are thought to have once been potential harbors for life with oceans of water and rich atmospheres. Reflecting on the history of Earth’s closest planets can help improve understanding of the emergence of life, processes of the Earth, and advance technologies along humanity’s journey to send humans to these other worlds. It will be an arduous process to settle planets millions of miles away from home, but both planets offer insight into a greater awareness of the universe. It is important to take steps to learn more about where life started so it can be better understood where the future will take humanity. Venus offers just as many opportunities to learn about the universe while offering a new world for humans to physically explore. This is the 21st century, and now the limit is not the sky, but beyond the sky, and into the skies of other worlds. Time will tell, but Mars and Venus may just as well become new neighbors of human settlements in the Solar System.
References
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Cabbage, M., & McCarthy, L. (2016, August 10). NASA Climate Modeling Suggests Venus May Have Been Habitable. NASA Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2475/nasa-climate-modeling-suggests-venus-may-have-been-habitable/
Chu, J. (2020, September 14). Astronomers May Have Found a Signature of Life on Venus. MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. https://news.mit.edu/2020/life-venus-phosphine-0914
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