Episode 599: Flying In The Cloudtops Of Venus. Balloons, Airships And Airplanes For Venus

The exploration of Venus has been mainly about getting down to the surface of the planet. The Soviet Union sacrificed lander after lander to discover just how extreme the conditions are down there on the ground. But higher up, among the clouds, the climate on Venus is surprisingly Earthlike in temperature and pressure, and there have been some fascinating ideas for robotic and human explorers to fly the skies of Venus, to help understand our evil twin planet. Let’s take a look at them. Our Book is out! https://www.amazon.com/Universe-Today-Ultimate-Viewing-Cosmos/dp/1624145442/ Audio Podcast version: ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/universe-today-guide-to-space-audio/id794058155?mt=2 RSS: https://www.universetoday.com/audio Weekly email newsletter: https://www.universetoday.com/newsletter Weekly Space Hangout: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0-KklSGlCiJDwOPdR2EUcg/ Astronomy Cast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHI67dh9jEO2rvK--MdCSg Support us at https://www.patreon.com/universetoday More stories at https://www.universetoday.com/ Twitch: https://twitch.tv/fcain Twitter: @universetoday Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/universetoday Instagram - https://instagram.com/universetoday Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / frasercain@gmail.com Karla Thompson - @karlaii / https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEItkORQYd4Wf0TpgYI_1fw Chad Weber - weber.chad@gmail.com References: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/venus/in-depth/ https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/venusfact.html http://www.esa.int/ScienceExploration/SpaceScience/VenusExpress/Acidcloudsandlightning https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/magellan/in-depth/ https://progearthplanetsci.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40645-018-0181-x https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/resources/2197/aerial-platforms-for-the-scientific-exploration-of-venus/ https://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/venus-20070827.html https://trs.jpl.nasa.gov/bitstream/handle/2014/44535/13-5079A1b.pdf?sequence=1 https://unmanned-aerial.com/nasa-taps-black-swift-to-develop-uas-for-studying-venus https://www.universetoday.com/144045/stingray-glider-to-explore-the-cloudtops-of-venus/ https://www.lpi.usra.edu/vexag/meetings/STIM/presentations/PolidanVAMP%20for%20STIM%20Meeting%20Jan%202013%20-%20Final%20Approved.pdf https://sacd.larc.nasa.gov/smab/havoc/