Venus: Why the Hellish Planet is Exciting Scientists and Astronomers

Numerous missions and spacecraft are set to aim for Venus in the coming years, but why are scientists and astronomers excited about the hellish planet?

Venus is known for its toxicity, the hotness of its air, its backward spins, and the plethora of volcanoes. Yet, three missions to Venus were recently announced by NASA and ESA, which is set to reveal more about the hellish planet in the coming years. Many scientists have dubbed Venus as Earth's evil twin.

Understanding Venus

According to NASA, Venus is the closest neighbor to Earth and is the 2nd planet from the Sun. Because of its size and density, it is often referred to as Earth's twin, but there are radical differences between the two planets.

Venus is known for its thick and toxic atmosphere filled with CO2 that is perpetually shrouded in yellowing sulfuric acid clouds that trap heat, causing a staggering greenhouse effect. It is the hottest planet in the solar system despite Mercury being significantly closer to the Sun. Venus' surface temperature is roughly 900 degrees Fahrenheit which is hot enough to melt lead. Its surface is rusty colored and peppered with crunched mountains and thousands of large, possibly active volcanoes.

At its surface, Venus has crushing air pressure that is more than 90 times than that of Earth. However, one of its most bizarre characteristics is its backward axis, where the Sun rises from the west and sets on the east opposite on what is experienced on Earth and other planets in the solar system.

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Why is Venus Exciting?

Recently NASA has green-lighted 2 Venus missions DaVinci+ and VERITAS, while the European Space Agency has announced a Venus orbiter named EnVission. Gizmodo spoke with numerous planetary experts to understand what makes Venus so exciting.

Paul byre, an expert in planetary science from North Carolina State University, says in a video call that, in a nutshell, Venus missions are set to further understand why the planet is the Earth's sibling and not really its twin. Byrne explains that scientists have been baffled by how different the two worlds are. How is it possible that two planets that are basically the same on paper could be so vastly different from one another? He adds that EnVision, VERITAS, and DAVINCI+ are set to provide unbelievable and unexpected solid foundations on how to tackle the age-old question.

The upcoming Venus missions from NASA and ESA are expected to further refine our scientific understanding of whether or not life could have survived in the hellish conditions of the planet; despite not the missions explicitly on the lookout for signs of life; scientists are eager for any hard evidence about the ecology of the planet.

There are numerous features on Venus that scientists and astronomers are eager to observe, interpret, and analyze. Experts are also intrigued about what Venus's discoveries could reveal about the Earth and the evolution and history of the solar system.

Since Venus is a sibling planet of Earth, there are high possibilities that the future missions would reveal more about our planet than we expect.