> Colonists to Venus would not build on the planet's surface; they would, in theory, set up a floating "cloud city" in Venus’s atmosphere. Of course, Venus-bound missions would "require big policy changes at NASA," writes Elizabeth Lopatto for The Verge. But two scientists, Dale Arney and Chris Jones, of NASA’s Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate at Langley Research Center in Virginia, point out that about 31 miles above the surface, the gravity and pressure is Earth-like, temperatures stay near the more manageable 167 degrees F and the colony would be more shielded from the Sun’s radiation than Mars.
It is easier to heat something than cool something. A permanently flying vessel [which is essentially what Venus requires] isn't safe except as a robotic design. It is a fatal mechanical failure waiting to happen.
There is a reason planes need so much maintenance and it isn't "saving money". A plane that would never have to land or need maintenance would be cheaper.
Sure, the ISS can manage it and you could probably set up something similar on Venus. But it wouldn't be a permanent, expandable settlement like you might be able to do on Mars.
It is easier to heat something than cool something. A permanently flying vessel [which is essentially what Venus requires] isn't safe except as a robotic design. It is a fatal mechanical failure waiting to happen.
There is a reason planes need so much maintenance and it isn't "saving money". A plane that would never have to land or need maintenance would be cheaper.
Sure, the ISS can manage it and you could probably set up something similar on Venus. But it wouldn't be a permanent, expandable settlement like you might be able to do on Mars.