Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




VENUSIAN HEAT
NASA, Hot Air and Venus
by Morris Jones
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Dec 22, 2014


illustration only

Draft NASA plans for a human mission to Venus have spread virally though the mainstream media, and caused journalists in distant lands to contact this analyst for clarification. It's no wonder. NASA spits out plans for some grand scheme every few months.

Nothing much seems to happen. The ideas get steadily weirder. Nobody knows what NASA is doing, and the spaceflight community is becoming increasingly concerned that the agency itself does not know what it is doing.

Let's just recap the latest plan. The proposed mission calls for astronauts to fly to Venus and spend time exploring the planet from the comfort of an airship stationed in the cool upper layers of the Venusian atmosphere. In theory, this could be done. But why?

The astronauts will not land on the surface of the planet. That's understandable. With surface temperatures hot enough to melt lead, and huge atmospheric pressures, even hardened robotic probes struggle to work for more than an hour. So, what's the point of having a few merry travellers hanging about in the air?

In theory, they could study the atmosphere around them. But so can robotic balloons and aircraft. They could also drop probes to the lower atmosphere and surface. So can robots. Are the astronauts just along for a slightly scientific joyride? The public won't accept this, and neither will the scientific community.

Let's contrast this with missions to the Moon and Mars. We can actually place astronauts on the surface and explore. The capabilities of humans over machines can be used to produce more scientific and exploratory returns than mere machines.

This analyst would love to see astronauts fly to the red planet and return to the Moon. One day, they will. But the whole idea of sending humans to Venus sounds crazy.

Our exploration of Mars holds the promise of eventually locating fossils or true Martian life. We can hold no such expectations for Venus.

The plan goes further. Eventually, we could build floating balloon colonies in the atmosphere of Venus. Such floating cities appear in science fiction. They will probably stay there. The idea of a short human mission to Venus is dubious. The proposal for a colony is even less credible.

NASA is an embattled government agency that's struggling for funding, political support and popular support. It needs to present a strong image of being rational, effective and inspiring.

It's a bitter irony that NASA seems to be getting increasingly befuddled in its public statements as well as its own internal planning. The agency could soon be its own worst enemy. There's too much hot air in the atmosphere of Venus, and there's an increasing amount coming from NASA itself.

Dr Morris Jones is an Australian space analyst who has written for spacedaily.com since 1999. Email morrisjonesNOSPAMhotmail.com. Replace NOSPAM with @ to send email. Dr Jones will answer media inquiries.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
NASA
Venus Express News and Venusian Science






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








VENUSIAN HEAT
Venus Express goes gently into the night
Paris (ESA) Dec 18, 2014
ESA's Venus Express has ended its eight-year mission after far exceeding its planned life. The spacecraft exhausted its propellant during a series of thruster burns to raise its orbit following the low-altitude aerobraking earlier this year. Since its arrival at Venus in 2006, Venus Express had been on an elliptical 24-hour orbit, traveling 66 000 km above the south pole at its furthest po ... read more


VENUSIAN HEAT
'Shooting the Moon' with Satellite Laser Ranging

Moon Express testing compact lunar lander at Kennedy

UK Plans to Drill Into Moon, Explore Feasibility of Manned Base

Carnegie Mellon Unveils Lunar Rover "Andy"

VENUSIAN HEAT
Tales from a Martian Rock

Russian scientists 'map' water vapor in Martian atmosphere

Flying over Becquerel

New idea for transporting spacecraft could ease trip to Mars

VENUSIAN HEAT
FFD signs Space Act Agreement with NASA for Space Suit Development

NASA Selects Commercial Space Partners for Collaborative Partnerships

Does the peer review process stifle scientific innovation?

NASA releases video of Orion spacecraft re-entry from astronaut's perspective

VENUSIAN HEAT
China's Long March puts satellite in orbit on 200th launch

Countdown to China's new space programs begins

China develops new rocket for manned moon mission: media

Service module of China's returned lunar orbiter reaches L2 point

VENUSIAN HEAT
Bright lights: big cities at night

NASA, SpaceX Update Launch of Fifth SpaceX Resupply Mission to ISS

Fifth SpaceX Mission Lets the CATS Out on the International Space Station

Politics no problem, say US and Russian spacefarers

VENUSIAN HEAT
SES: Astra 2G ready for Dec 28 Proton launch

Soyuz Installed at Baikonur, Expected to Launch Wednesday

Russian Space Agency Pushes Back Earth Imaging Satellite Launch to Friday

State Spaceports Receive Federal Funding

VENUSIAN HEAT
Kepler Proves It Can Still Find Planets

NASA's Kepler Reborn, Makes First Exoplanet Find of New Mission

Super-Earth spotted by ground-based telescope, a first

Astronomers spot Pluto-size objects swarming about young sun

VENUSIAN HEAT
Lead islands in a sea of graphene magnetize the material of the future

Theory details how 'hot' monomers affect thin-film formation

Penn Researchers Show Commonalities in How Different Glassy Materials Fail

Danish radars for new British offshore patrol boats




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.