Venus has a harsh environment with a carbon dioxide atmosphere, toxic clouds, and extreme pressure and heat. Despite this, it offers potential for colonization due to its mass and proximity to Earth. Colonizing the surface would require terraforming, but colonizing the upper atmosphere with floating platforms is more realistic. Breathable air could be obtained by processing the atmosphere.
Venus is covered in a carbon dioxide atmosphere with toxic clouds of sulfuric acid. At the surface, the pressure is about 92 atmospheres, similar to being under a kilometer of water on Earth. Its surface is the temperature of an oven, averaging 863°F (462°C). The equator is even hotter, at 932°F (500°C), enough to melt lead. When the Soviets sent specially armored probes to the surface of Venus, they only lasted between 20 and 40 minutes before succumbing to the extreme pressure and heat.
Despite these harsh conditions, Venus calls for colonization. With a mass similar to Earth, it would offer a similar surface area and familiar levels of gravity, unlike tiny, low-gravity Mars. It’s also closer to Earth than Mars is, and its proximity to the Sun would provide more solar energy per square foot of solar arrays.
Unfortunately, colonizing the surface of Venus would be very difficult. You’d need to create cybernetic humans capable of operating in such harsh conditions, or somehow solidify much of the atmosphere to reduce its density. This would require planetary engineering of Venus, a truly energy-hungry and logistically challenging process. The process of transforming a hostile planet into a more Earth-like environment has been called terraforming.
More realistic in the next century or two is colonizing the upper atmosphere of Venus. At an altitude of about 50 kilometers, the air pressure is similar to that at the earth’s surface. Since breathable air serves as a floating gas in Venus’ atmosphere, floating air-filled domes would be similar to balloons, allowing for floating platforms. The winds here are strong enough to cause a floating platform to blow around Venus about every 100 hours, resulting in a highly preferable 100-hour day depending on Venus’ natural rotation, which only makes one full circle every 243 days!
Obtaining breathable air for humans could be achieved by processing the atmosphere of Venus. Carbon dioxide, which makes up 96.5%, could be processed to provide oxygen. Nitrogen, which makes up 78% of our atmosphere, makes up 3.5% of the Venusian atmosphere, could also be mined and purified in large quantities.
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