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Review
There is a planet whose surface resembles a huge furnace, and the atmosphere is filled with a thick poisonous fog, and its environment is so bad that the crystallization of human technology disappears in an instant.
This planet is Venus, our most mysterious and terrifying neighbor. Its frightening environmental conditions and enticing mysteries have attracted humans to explore deeply since ancient times. In the long history of mankind, the exploration of Venus is not only a feat of scientific inquiry, but also an expedition to challenge the limits.
Earth's closest neighbors
At night, there is a star that shines brightly, second only to the bright moon, becoming one of the brightest stars in our field of vision.
This shining star is Venus, the closest planet to our Earth and the second closest celestial body to the Sun.
The name Venus contains different meanings and origins, reflecting the diverse perceptions and imaginations of human beings about this planet.
Ancient China called Venus "Taibai", which means that it is as white as white, echoing the metallic nature of the five elements. Venus sometimes appears in the east in the early morning and is called "Qiming" to symbolize the arrival of a new day, and sometimes it shines in the west at dusk and is praised as "Chang Gung", which means a long star. Venus is believed to be an auspicious symbol that predicts the fate of kings and the rise and fall of nations.
In Western culture, Venus takes its name from Venus, the goddess of love and beauty in Roman mythology. In Greek mythology, she corresponds to Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty.
Venus is seen as the symbol of Venus because of its brightness and beauty. Her astronomical symbols, in the image of a vanity mirror held by Venus.
Although Venus is adjacent to Earth, its environment is very different. Venus's atmosphere is extremely thick and consists mainly of clouds of carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid.
The planet lacks water, life, and tectonics on Earth, with only a large number of volcanoes and impact craters. Venus rotates in the opposite direction to other planets and is extremely slow, with a day longer than a year.
The mystery of Venus attracts the heart of human exploration. From naked-eye observation in ancient times, to telescope observation in modern times, to modern space exploration, mankind's understanding of Venus has deepened day by day. However, as the understanding deepened, people gradually discovered the horror and mystery hidden by Venus.
Venus of terror
Venus, shining brightest in the solar system, has the most dangerous environment. Its surface temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind speed and acid rain all present daunting challenges. Venus has a reputation for its hellish conditions, making it one of the most difficult tasks for humans to explore the solar system.
First of all, it's the heat of Venus that is terrifying. The planet has an average surface temperature of 462 degrees Celsius, which is higher than Mercury, making it the hottest planet in the solar system.
This temperature is enough to melt metals such as lead, tin, and zinc, and it can also turn humans into ashes in an instant. The main culprit for this high temperature is the intense greenhouse effect caused by Venus's thick atmosphere. This layer of the atmosphere is mainly composed of carbon dioxide, which accounts for more than 96% of the atmosphere.
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that absorbs the sun's heat, but it is difficult to release, causing the surface temperature of Venus to continue to rise. In addition, sulfuric acid clouds in the atmosphere reflect most of the sunlight, making the surface of Venus dull, but also hindering the heat dissipation, further exacerbating the greenhouse effect.
Secondly, the atmospheric pressure of Venus is also extremely staggering, equivalent to 92 times that of the Earth, and equivalent to the water pressure at 1,000 meters below the Earth's sea level.
This pressure is enough to easily shatter a human body, and it can also destroy most man-made devices. Venus has a thick atmosphere, 93 times the mass and 50 times the density of the Earth.
In addition, the atmosphere is filled with a large number of toxic gases, such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrofluoric acid and hydrochloric acid, which are extremely corrosive to humans and detectors.
In addition, the wind speed on Venus is also extremely terrifying, reaching up to 360 kilometers per hour, which is more violent than a hurricane on Earth. This phenomenon stems from the extremely slow rotation of Venus, with a day longer than a year.
This results in a large temperature difference that stimulates intense atmospheric movements. It is worth mentioning that Venus rotates in the opposite direction to the other planets, from west to east, which may have been caused by a huge impact.
Finally, acid rain is common on Venus, due to sulfuric acid clouds in the atmosphere. These clouds are produced by the reaction of large amounts of sulfur dioxide released by Volcanic activity on Venus and water vapor from the atmosphere.
The sulphuric acid clouds condense into raindrops at high altitude, but due to the high temperatures of Venus, they evaporate before reaching the surface, creating a cycle. Sulfuric acid rain has a strong corrosive effect on both the surface of Venus and the probe, dissolving rocks and metals.
Hard-to-set places
Venus is the most terrifying planet in the solar system, and it is also the most difficult existence on the road to exploration. The human quest for Venus has been fraught with failures and setbacks.
Since the 60s of the last century, the United States and the Soviet Union have been racing to launch probes to Venus in an attempt to unveil this mysterious planet. However, Venus's harsh environment makes it difficult for most probes to survive or work on its surface. Even if a few probes managed to reach the surface of Venus, they would only send back very little data, and then they would be wiped out by this hellish environment.
According to statistics, more than 40 probes have been launched to Venus so far, of which 18 were launched by the Soviet Union, 11 by the United States, and the rest by Europe, Japan and other countries or organizations.
The missions of these probes are varied, including impacts, overflights, orbital entry, atmospheric probing, and landing. Sadly, many probes fail during launches, some disappear after entering the atmosphere, and others stop operating on the surface of Venus for only a few minutes or hours.
Only a handful of probes are able to sustain their work on Venus for a period of time, or to send back some limited and valuable data.
Mariner 2 of the United States was the first machine to successfully fly by Venus, and the first time in human history that this goal was achieved. After its launch on August 27, 1962, it flew past Venus on December 14 of the same year, reaching a distance of only 34,000 kilometers at its closest approach.
It sent back radio and microwave data from Venus, confirming that Venus's atmosphere was unusually thick and the surface temperature was extremely high, about 400 degrees Celsius.
Venera-7 was the first Soviet machine in the history of mankind to achieve a successful landing. It was launched on August 17, 1970, and landed on the surface of Venus on December 15 of the same year.
It sent back some of Venus's atmospheric and surface data, verifying that Venus's atmospheric pressure was 90 times that of Earth's, its surface temperature reached 475 degrees Celsius, and its surface wind speed was 0.5 to 1.5 meters per second. In addition, it sent back some sounds of Venus, but no images were taken.
It was the first time that I had successfully taken a picture of the surface of the planet. Launched on June 8, 1975, it contains an orbiter and a lander.
The orbiter entered the orbit of Venus on October 20, 1975, and the lander landed on the surface of Venus on October 22 of the same year. The lander sent back some atmospheric and surface data from Venus, as well as the first image from another planet's surface.
This photograph shows a desolate view of the surface of Venus, with some flat rocks and crevasses. The lander was destroyed by high temperatures and pressures after working on Venus for 53 minutes.
Magellan was the first U.S. probe to successfully map the globe of Venus, and the first machine to do so. It was launched on May 4, 1989 and entered the orbit of Venus on August 10, 1990.
Synthetic aperture radar technology was used to scan the surface of Venus with high resolution, and more than 98% of the map of Venus was completed. A large number of volcanoes, impact craters, geological faults, and mountain ranges have been discovered.
It also measured Venus' gravitational field and found anomalous areas of gravity that may be related to the planet's internal structure. After nearly four years on Venus, the mission ended on October 12, 1994, and was subsequently guided into the atmosphere of Venus on October 13, where it was incinerated.
Despite the difficulties and dangers faced by these probes on Venus, they have revealed some of the mysteries of Venus for mankind and taught us more about the Earth's neighbors.
However, Venus is still a world full of unknowns and challenges, and human exploration of it is still in the exploration stage. In recent years, a number of new Venus exploration programs have been proposed, such as the Venus Express in Europe, the Venus Climate Orbiter in Japan, and Leonardo da Vinci+ and Veritas in the United States.
The probes will use more advanced technology to conduct more in-depth studies of Venus's atmosphere, surface, interior and surrounding space environment, hoping to answer important questions about Venus's evolutionary history, geological and volcanic activity, atmospheric composition, the greenhouse effect, the presence of water and the possibility of life. Perhaps in the near future, humanity will have a deeper knowledge and understanding of this hard-to-set world.
epilogue
In the years to come, we may have a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of Venus, revealing the planet's true face. Whether it's a challenge or a miracle, Venus has always been the mysterious and terrifying neighbor in the solar system, waiting for human explorers to bravely move forward and explore more unknown mysteries.
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