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I just wonder how those who have doubt's about Venus plan on overcoming Mars having about a fourth the gravity of Earth.
Actually, the gravity on Mars is about 38%, or a bit more than a third that of Earth's. I don't know if that is low enough to have a negative affect on health over an extended period.
In fact, up in the clouds above its scorching surface, Venus is "probably the most Earth-like environment that's out there," Chris Jones of NASA told Evan Ackerman at IEEE Spectrum.
Forget Mars and its frigid temperatures and thin atmosphere when we can live like gods, afloat in the clouds of Venus.
No thanks. If this is seriously something that's being planned, and if I had to make a choice between the two, I'd choose Mars.
Unfortunately space colonization on moon, Mars, Venus or any where else may be possible one day but main problem is cost. It would cost billions of billions. No government would vote on such program. To than NASA will keep dreaming up these sci-fi ideas.
Last face it unless space cost comes down humans are going no where. There are many private companies in the researching and developing but still too costly even going to moon that alone Mars, Venus or any where else.
Hollywood movies make it seem easy and anyone can get in space. In reality it is hard and extremely costly to point not practical even for the rich.
Actually, the gravity on Mars is about 38%, or a bit more than a third that of Earth's. I don't know if that is low enough to have a negative affect on health over an extended period.
This really is probably the biggest question that will determine ultimately if Mars can ever be a truly self sustaining planetary civilization or a world with scientific/educational/vacation structures and only temporary human residents.
I think terraformation will happen if possible either way but the question remains weather this future "green" Mars will just be a place to visit for recreation & study or if offspring of large earth fauna (most importantly humans) can be born, grow and physically develop properly there.
Regarding Venus. Floating colonies in the clouds obviously doesn't offer the potential for any kind of large self sustaining civilization. At best it is a region of Venus (in the planets current condition) that could be occupied temporarily by future spacecraft for experimentation purposes.
To really start the space exploration we need cheap energy and artificial gravity. To get artificial gravity we need to understand gravity.
We can establish a human colony in many places in our solar system.
I think they should send robots to build colonies on Mars before sending any humans; obviously they would have to wait 10-15 years when they have better designs and stronger build quality on human like robots (that Asimo from Japan can carry trays with coffee cups now, but I doubt it's strong enough to lift heavier things?).
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If you're thinking about Bespin Cloud City in Star Wars, I don't see that happening.
For one thing, there's the psychology of it all. Being burned alive (should you fall off the floating city) is MUCH more terrifying to most people than freezing to death and having your blood boil out of your body while alive. Yes, this is a matter of personal preference, but this does seem the case for most people. This alone would be an inhibition, especially if they can easily imaging balloons failing (I know very well that breathable air would be a lifting gas in Venus's atmosphere, but the psychology IS a factor NASA'd have to deal with).
For another thing, what could we do once we get there? Nothing that I can think of, not even mining operations by robots on the planets surface.
*The dense air pressure (90X Earth Sea Level standard pressure)
*Lifting the minerals to orbit takes enormous energy (rockets are vastly impractical for that, at least on the scale implied here)
*Space elevators won't work, because the anchor must be in geosynchronous orbit (Venus rotates once every 243 days, forcing the elevator to be absurdly long).
That alone kills the practicality of setting up a colony in Venus's atmosphere right there.
Of all the inner planets in our solar system, Venus is the hottest and worst to sustain life.
Mars can be terraformed to sustain life.
Yeah...I'm wondering if someone thought: Let's think of the dumbest place for humans to live on that might not kill us instantly if we are sufficiently creative and see what it would take to live there.
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