What If We Colonize Venus Instead Of Mars?
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With a lot of attention focused on Mars as the next spot of human habitation, many have wondered why Venus isn't being considered more. So let's ask the question, what if we colonize Venus instead of Mars?
9. The Major Issue With Trying To Live On Venus
So the obvious question that you are likely asking is, "Why are we fixating on colonizing Mars when Venus is technically our "sister planet"? Shouldn't we be trying to get to the planet that is more like us than the one that is barren?
First and foremost, Venus is a greenhouse planet. Which is almost literally the exact opposite of what Mars is. For while Mars has a very thin atmosphere that has very little gases in it, Venus has a thick atmosphere like Earth
8. Floating Colonies
I want you to picture Star Wars for a second. Specifically, Cloud City from The Empire Strikes Back. Remember how it was a city that was quite literally floating above the clouds? Well, there are some scientists who believe that we could do something like this on Venus and have a better life there than on the ground.
How does that work? Simple, on the ground, the gasses of Venus are so dense and troubling that having a colony there would be problematic. However, the higher you go into the atmosphere, the thinner the gasses get, and scientists have realized that at about 30 miles above the ground there is a sweet spot of Oxygen and other gasses that humans could use to survive long term. As well as a spot that is modest in temperature and pressure exerted.
And how do we get to be in a spot 30 miles above the surface? With a floating city or colony of sorts.
I can hear the question in your mind, "But wouldn't it be hard to keep the floating city...afloat?"
7. The Pull of Venus
Ok, so we've established that we could possibly live on Venus, but is there more to it than that? What are the true perks of being on Venus vs. Mars or the Moon or even Saturn's moon, Titan?
Let's talk about one aspect you may not have considered, but is vital to human life...gravity. Yeah, gravity.
6. It's Closer To Earth
Another advantage that Venus would have over Mars is one that is very simple: Distance. The distance to Venus is much closer to that of Mars. At its closest (as the planets orbit the sun and get farther away from each other at points), the Earth is only 38 million kilometers from Venus. Making that the smallest distance that any planet ever is from Earth as a whole. In contrast, the distance from Earth to Mars is 54.6 million kilometers, and in space travel, every kilometer does count.
5. Terraforming?
Terraforming is an idea that has been floated around for many different planets in order to make them more habitable for human life. To those who don't know what that is, it's the concept of using technology to alter the structure of the planet in order to make it change. So in the case of Mars, using things like gasses to try and buff up the atmosphere and make it able to hold things like oxygen so that we can breathe.
Or, in the case of Venus, using various particles and gasses and other materials in order to thin out the atmosphere so that we could live at ground level at a good temperature.
4. Have You Ever Seen the Rain?
Thank you to those who got that classic song reference, but it is something we need to consider about Venus. You see, another reason that scientists agree we can't go right to Venus right now is that the composition of the atmosphere is so bad that it quite literally rains acid. I'm just saying.
3. The Supplies Issue
Sorry if I'm raining your parade (see what I did there?), but there is another issue that needs to be addressed to those who reside on Venus. And not so ironically it's a similar issue to those who colonize any other world. The question of long-term sustainment via supplies and materials.
Part of the reason that Earth is such a great place to live on is that we have access to materials in a very easy way. We need wood? We have trees. We need water? There's a lot of it everywhere if you know where to look. You need something deep down? We have tools to help you get that.
On Venus though, whether we live on the ground somehow or in the air on floating citie..
2. Could We Grow Things On Colonies On Venus?
This is another question that is being posed of the Mars missions and other attempts at colonization, because right now, the only planet in the solar system we have that has plants is Earth. And even in the floating colonies of Venus that we may have, we'd need plants for various other things like medicine, extra oxygen, and even simple things like creature comforts.
1. The Earth and Venus