How Venus is a better planet than mars
Both Venus and Mars have captured the human imagination during the twentieth century as the possible planets where life had or might still exist. Venus is the Earth’s closest neighbor, besides being the second planet from the sun. It has a thick atmosphere that captures heat and thus turning into the hottest planet in the solar system. The temperatures at the surface are hot enough to be able to melt lead. Looking below the clouds, volcanoes and deformed mountains are evident. Venus has a radius of 3,760 miles, which is slightly smaller when compared to the planet earth. Venus has some advantages over mars. Today, there is evidence of past microbial life on the planet mars probably from the past, and that remains a key theme in space exploration. However, due to the extreme temperatures and pressures found on the planet, mars ended the hopes of the possibility of life on the planet Venus. This study explores the possibility that planet Venus is still better than planet Mars.
Venus has significant advantages over mars when considering the creation of extra-terrestrial Earth-like habitats. People can easily visit Venus and come back to Earth without any challenges with the Earth’s intense gravitational field. Mars’ gravity is around 0.4 times that of the Earth, while Venus’ gravity is closer to Earth’s gravity than any other planet in the solar system. Scientists are not sure about the harm people can get through long term exposure to the Martian gravity. This is because; prolonged exposure to the low gravity is known to disrupt bodily fluids movement on the brain as well as causing bone mass loss. The Venus’ gravity is less of a concern since it is at 0.9 earth’s gravity.
Additionally, Venus is very close to Earth when compared to the mars. This is why, the very first every scientists were sent to the Venus and not mars. A whole trip to the Venus is about 30-50% using the current rocket technology when compared to Mars. This shorter distance means lesser costs and fewer travel logistics. Journey to Venus happen every 584 days compared to 780 days for mars. The Venus proximity to the Earth makes communication easier than planet Mars. The proximity saves on fuel, food, and time, considering enough materials needed to carry and set up a habitable environment.
Then there is the Venus’ atmosphere. The atmosphere is mostly made up of carbon dioxide. However, since oxygen and nitrogen are lighter than carbon dioxide, breathable air-filled balloons can float at the height of about 50 km. In this height, there is a manageable temperature of 75 degrees Celsius or 27 degrees Celsius upon getting 5 km higher. Besides, the atmosphere provides the various elements required for agriculture and human life, such as oxygen, sulfur, hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon. Either the upper atmosphere offers protection from harmful solar radiation, which is the same as the protection provided at the Earth’s atmosphere. The mars atmosphere provides very little protection. This is because mars have a very thin layer of gas serving as its atmosphere, which is about 0.6% that of the Earth. This thin atmospheric layer cannot retain heat and also causes the surface temperatures to drop to -81° F. The thick Venus’ atmosphere can shield its surface from the sun’s radiation and meteorites. Either, oxygen can be extracted from the Venus’ atmosphere theoretically.