NASA is hosting an eagerly anticipate contention in 2016 calledNew Frontiers , and it ’s vouch to attract the most innovational and swerve - edge existence that all drive to shoot into place . These projects admit ideas such as a workmanship that will take a sample distribution from a comet to return to Earth , a Saturn investigation , and a lunar perch sample gatherer .
But there is one in special that has start out to appeal attention and spark give-and-take : A blank space blimp , build byNorthrop Grumman , that will blow serenely over the acid cloud of Venus . The Venus Atmospheric Maneuverable Platform ( VAMP ) would inflate with a buoyant gas around 50 - 70 kilometers ( 30 - 43 miles ) above the control surface of Venus and employ a propellor to stay airborne .
Venus has a standardized size and mass to Earth , but it ’s also dissemble in a scorching haze of carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid . Surface temperature have been measure at 465oC ( 870oF ) and the pressure is around 90 Earth aura .
" Surviving on the surface for any longer than four hours and getting high - solvent information is a challenge,“saidConstantine Tsang , a research scientist at theSouthwest Research Institute .
However , when compared to the aerofoil , the KO’d atmosphere is positively crackers . The press floating above Venusian cloud is around 1 atmosphere — the same as on Earth — and the temperature around 15oC ( 59oF ) . For this reason , it ’s much easier to blow above all that surface topsy-turvyness .
" Not a whole lot dissimilar than flying on Earth,“Ron Polidan , Northrop ’s California - base chief architect of polite system of rules , said . " If you wanna just dust sulphuric superman all over yourself , that would be more like what you have on Venus . "
There have been atmosphere probes around Venus in the past ; theVenus Expressprobe crashed into Venus in 2014 after an impressive eight - year foreign mission . The exhausted probe ran out of fuel and could n’t stay afloat .
prickteaser would attempt to get the best this with a solar - powered propeller . At night , the batteries would be keep going by an Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator , which simply convert heat produced by radioactive decline into electricity .
However , this does n’t mean that vamper will be a lasting sky - occupier over Venus : The limiting constituent will be the inflatable gases in the sausage balloon . flirt could stay afloat for around a year before the gradual loss of floaty gas means that it easy plummet towards Venus ' unforgiving atmosphere .
Given the challenger , tease will have a lot of work to do to stand out . Will VAMP be able-bodied to answer the science community ’s most pressing questions about Venus ?
" We have a list of a about a 12 instruments that hoi polloi have advise we wing … and we convened a skill consultative board to help us define both the instruments and where the aircraft needs to be to take the demand measurements , " Polidansaid .
VAMP has room for around20 kilograms(44 lbs ) of recording equipment . The inflatable aircraft could expend a salmagundi of kit to take Modern recordings of Venus ' atmosphere and unravel the mysteries around Earth ’s evil twin .
