# Is there any possibility of a Manned mission to Venus **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 1, 2015, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-possibility-of-a-manned-mission-to-venus/721355 "2015-06-01T16:54:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ssgenius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@ssgenius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ssgenius)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-possibility-of-a-manned-mission-to-venus/721355/1 "2015-06-01T16:54:57Z")
Working on the threads of a manned Mars Mission Would there be any possibility of a manned Venus Mission? Or is that completely out of the realm of today’s (or even future technology) considering the heat, the high pressure toxic atmosphere of Venus considering that unmanned probes there only survive for a short period of time. Would this be a possible goal after Mars (if it was successful) or is this out of the realm of even the most dedicated and optimistic group even with unlimited monetary sources Or is this just another unrealistic dream that is not ever going to happen? ---
**Author:** ![ssgenius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@ssgenius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ssgenius)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-possibility-of-a-manned-mission-to-venus/721355/2 "2015-06-01T16:57:48Z")
A comment on the Venus mission, assuming that it has a very poor chance of success, is there anyone who you would volunteer for the mission ? :):)😃 ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-possibility-of-a-manned-mission-to-venus/721355/3 "2015-06-01T17:14:21Z")
Some brash young guy from Iowa might. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-possibility-of-a-manned-mission-to-venus/721355/4 "2015-06-01T17:17:53Z")
2 possibilities besides a orbital space station (for whatever reason we would actually do that). 1 Terraform Venus first, but we have no idea how. Perhaps place a solar shade in orbit. 2 A floating station/city above, not on, the surface. Not sure why you would want to do this either as you are just hanging in the sky. see: > **[NASA’s plan for an off-world colony: a floating city above Venus | CNN Business](https://www.cnn.com/2014/12/23/tech/innovation/tomorrow-transformed-venus-blimp-city/)** > > Imagine a blimp city floating 30 miles above the scorching surface of Venus: a home for astronauts in one of the solar system’s most inhospitable planets. > [@](#): > > But above this cauldron of carbon dioxide at an altitude of 50km (30 miles) scientists say the conditions are as close to Earth’s as you’ll find anywhere in the solar system. (from link above) ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-possibility-of-a-manned-mission-to-venus/721355/5 "2015-06-01T17:19:32Z")
Assuming we could land a return vehicle safely. . . and the atmosphere was something much more benign than sulfuric acid. . . there ain’t a chance in heck with today’s technolgy we could make it back thru the atmosphere as thick as it is. Look at what it takes to get a man-rated vessel out of Earth orbit (Saturn V). In theory it would take even more energy than the Saturn V could put out to puch thru Venus’s atmosphere. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-possibility-of-a-manned-mission-to-venus/721355/6 "2015-06-01T17:28:30Z")
I remember a thread a few years ago regarding Venus. I did some crude back of the envelope calculations and figured out that a nuclear reactor could cool a pretty large sized colony of people on the surface. So, if you wanna send a lot of mass and people who go there are pretty content to stay there, its not cheap but it is in the realm of doable in the sense that it doesn’t violate laws of physics or require the GDP of 1000 Earths to accomplish. ---
**Author:** ![ssgenius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@ssgenius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ssgenius)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-possibility-of-a-manned-mission-to-venus/721355/7 "2015-06-01T17:32:07Z")
Obviously, someone has thought of the idea of visiting Venus with the floating platform. Didn’t even think about being able to lift off through the heavy atmosphere of Venus and their gravity that would be similar to Earth (even without the Sulfuric acid atmosphere) Could even a rocket be designed that could lift off a manned capsule? Never mind that everything would have to be transported to Venus for this. This would even be harder than I originally thought Going to something a little easier, would it even be possible for an unmanned probe to go to Venus and return to Earth? That might actually be possible ---
**Author:** ![ssgenius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@ssgenius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ssgenius)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-possibility-of-a-manned-mission-to-venus/721355/8 "2015-06-01T17:36:36Z")
> [@ssgenius](#): > > Working on the threads of a manned Mars Mission > > Would there be any possibility of a manned Venus Mission? > > Or is that completely out of the realm of today’s (or even future technology) considering the heat, the high pressure toxic atmosphere of Venus considering that unmanned probes there only survive for a short period of time. > > Would this be a possible goal after Mars (if it was successful) or is this out of the realm of even the most dedicated and optimistic group even with unlimited monetary sources > > Or is this just another unrealistic dream that is not ever going to happen? Found the thread. It is Astronauts on the Planet Venus Don’t know who to link to it although ---
**Author:** ![ssgenius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@ssgenius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ssgenius)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-possibility-of-a-manned-mission-to-venus/721355/9 "2015-06-01T17:48:41Z")
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=263002&highlight=Astronauts+Planet+Venus](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=263002&highlight=Astronauts+Planet+Venus) Seeing if this link works. Reading through the thread Essentially, it would not be feasible with the current technology based on the responses in the thread. As to whether any future technology could do this, I have major doubts on that. Interesting to speculate although And if a probe did come back from Venus, we still have Lee Majors (aka the Six Million Dollar man) to stop it:) ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-possibility-of-a-manned-mission-to-venus/721355/10 "2015-06-01T18:14:36Z")
A Venus flyby might be possible using a Proton type launcher. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-possibility-of-a-manned-mission-to-venus/721355/11 "2015-06-01T18:45:27Z")
Very hot, very corrosive, highly pressurized (about 90 earth atmospheres or 3,000 feet under tha sea). You’d either need some fail-proof force field technology or some really durable construction materials to survive on the surface. So…where are we with the force fields, and at what point does the solar wind become an impediment to traveling close to the sun? ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-possibility-of-a-manned-mission-to-venus/721355/12 "2015-06-01T18:52:12Z")
Nowhere near forcefields like you’re thinking. Solar wind is measured in protons/m[sup]3[/sup] - not really a big issue. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-possibility-of-a-manned-mission-to-venus/721355/13 "2015-06-01T19:04:08Z")
If someone offers you a trip, I’d suggest reading Kornbluth’s [Marching Morons](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marching_Morons) first. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-possibility-of-a-manned-mission-to-venus/721355/14 "2015-06-01T20:40:32Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Assuming we could land a return vehicle safely. . . and the atmosphere was something much more benign than sulfuric acid. . . there ain’t a chance in heck with today’s technolgy we could make it back thru the atmosphere as thick as it is. Look at what it takes to get a man-rated vessel out of Earth orbit (Saturn V). In theory it would take even more energy than the Saturn V could put out to puch thru Venus’s atmosphere. Our launch strategy would need to change, using flexible or ridged balloons or fixed or rotary winged aircraft for the first (and perhaps 2nd) part of the accent. Perhaps to a floating station, perhaps direct to orbit. We would only need to orbit and dock (or be docked with), not return directly. ---
**Author:** ![ssgenius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@ssgenius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ssgenius)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-possibility-of-a-manned-mission-to-venus/721355/15 "2015-06-01T21:42:02Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > If someone offers you a trip, I’d suggest reading Kornbluth’s [Marching Morons](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marching_Morons) first. Absolutely hilarious novel about sending the morons to Venus thinking it was paradise judging by the description although I don’t think that it was considered to be hilarious when written ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-possibility-of-a-manned-mission-to-venus/721355/16 "2015-06-01T22:01:50Z")
Checking online, only 10 probes have landed successfully on Venus, and the longest that any of them survived is 127 minutes. That does not bode well. ---
**Author:** ![ufel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@ufel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ufel)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-possibility-of-a-manned-mission-to-venus/721355/17 "2015-06-01T23:24:38Z")
on top of costing us pointless biillion of $ to attempt. Wth do you think we’d gain from trying, anyway? Nothing we’ve gained from NASA could not have been developed for 10x less money. Just the fact that they had to use TAX money to do it tells you, right off the bat, that it’s a loser proposition. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-possibility-of-a-manned-mission-to-venus/721355/18 "2015-06-02T01:19:07Z")
> [@ssgenius](#): > > A comment on the Venus mission, assuming that it has a very poor chance of success, is there anyone who you would volunteer for the mission ? > > :):)😃 Who says we need _volunteers?_ We would be sending criminals sentenced to “[transportation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penal_transportation#Other)”. > [@](#): > > Penal transportation, typically to other planets, sometimes appears in works of science fiction. A classic example is [_The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moon_is_a_Harsh_Mistress) by Robert Heinlein, in which convicts and political dissidents are transported to lunar colonies. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-possibility-of-a-manned-mission-to-venus/721355/19 "2015-06-02T09:49:36Z")
As an aside to the difficulty, I don’t think during any of the _Star Trek_ series/movies doing anything on or with Venus was ever even mentioned. > [@AK84](#): > > A Venus flyby might be possible using a Proton type launcher. A Venus fly-by was [considered during the Apollo program…](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manned_Venus_Flyby) ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-possibility-of-a-manned-mission-to-venus/721355/20 "2015-06-02T11:39:23Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > … > > A Venus fly-by was [considered during the Apollo program…](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manned_Venus_Flyby) Hopefully considered only as can we do it, not lets do it. A 1 year stint in a spacecraft just to flyby another planet seems like a terribly cruel thing to do. Also looking at the number of early failures of probes to the moon, specifically missing it time and time again, with orbiters, landers, impactors and even missing it with flyby’s again it is amazing that the Apollo program actually managed to get there. Though they used stepping stones, instead of hail Mary’s, so perhaps that was the difference. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-possibility-of-a-manned-mission-to-venus/721355.md?page=2)