With a surface hot enough to melt lead, Venus has been left alone by space agencies for a decade. Now we are about to learn more about its climate – and the chances of life on other planets
A fleet of robot spaceships is to descend on Venus in a few years and begin probing the most inhospitable world in the solar system. One craft will drop through the planet’s crushingly dense – and searingly hot – atmosphere while two others will orbit over the thick, acidic clouds that cover Venus and use sophisticated radar telescopes to survey the terrain beneath them.
Such scrutiny represents a remarkable renewal of interest in Earth’s nearest planetary neighbour. For more than a decade, American and European space agencies have ignored the planet – only for three new Venus missions to be announced within days of each other at the beginning of June.
Continue reading...from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3hraru4
