Why Most Space Expeditions Go To Mars Instead Of Earth’s Closest Neighbour Venus

Space exploration has become an integral part of scientific advancements. While astronomers have been stargazing since almost the advent of civilisation, the 20th century saw mankind actually going out to outer space. On June 20, 1944, the German V-2 rocket test launch, known as MW 18014, took place at the Peenemünde Army Research Centre. It was the first manmade object to travel across space. Since then, many shuttles have been sent to the moon and also the planet Mars, including our very own Mars Orbiter Mission or Mangalyaan launched by ISRO.

It is interesting to know that despite NASA and ISRO sending repeated space missions to Mars, the red planet is farther from Earth than other planets. Venus is the closest planet to Earth, so the obvious question that arises is why not send space missions to Venus instead of Mars?

It is believed that although conditions for life are not feasible on either of the planets, it would be easier to terraform Mars sometime in the future than Venus. The average temperature of Venus is 462 degrees Celsius and the amount of carbon dioxide and nitrogen in the atmosphere there is very high, making it an extremely hot planet. The scientific community even calls it “hell”.

While Mars is likewise uninhabitable, conditions there are marginally better than on Venus. But it’s pretty chilly here; the average temperature is minus eighteen degrees. Here, the percentage of carbon dioxide is ninety-five with one per cent oxygen.

Venus’s extreme heat and oppressive air pressure make surface exploration challenging. The Soviet Union’s Venera 13 mission achieved the record in 1981 for the longest time a spacecraft has been on the surface, just over two hours.

The average distance between Venus and Earth is 41 million kilometres, while the average distance between Mars and Earth is 225 million kilometres.