Seeker+ | How Venus Went From Dream to Deadly @DNewsPlus | Uploaded 2 years ago | Updated 2 hours ago
Venus is hell today, and we’ve got hard evidence to back up that idea. However, thanks to sci-fi, for a long time, people actually thought Venus might be a paradise under its thick clouds. In this episode, we examine how our thoughts of the planet evolved over time.
» Subscribe to Seeker+! bit.ly/SeekerPlusSubscribe (then hit the little 🔔 icon and select “all.“)
» Watch more! http://bit.ly/SeekerPlusPlaylist
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Some science fiction writers imagined Venus as an ocean world without any land, while others wrote about a primordial twin to Earth that was covered in vast forests, had massive sharks dominating the seas, and even mammal-like creatures that were just getting started.
Another vision depicted Venus as more of a paradise, eden-like in almost every regard. These many far-flung ideas about Venus persisted for decades — and without much evidence to suggest otherwise, they remained the popular notions of what life on Venus was like.
Yes, there were a few outliers during this time who thought Venus was a desolate place under those thick clouds, but it took until the height of the Cold War for hard evidence to come through. Thanks to the space race we slowly realized which vision was actually true. The moon gets all the attention but the Soviets and Americans weren’t just focused on the most expensive cheese run in history.
Other celestial bodies were targets for each country’s bragging rights, and their respective space programs sent probes and landers to both Mars and Venus. In 1962, NASA’s Mariner 2 probe reached Venus, which made it the first spacecraft ever to explore another planet. Mariner 1 was supposed to take that title, but because the rocket guidance software had a missing hyphen, the probe went off course and had to be destroyed on launch. Rockets are hard. Still, Mariner 2’s rocket presumably added the hyphen and the mission was a success.
As you can imagine, “firsts” were all the rage during the space race so for Venus that’s USA 1, USSR 0. But besides getting there first, the probe did something incredible; when it scanned the cloud-covered world, it changed our understanding of Venus overnight.
#Venus #SolarSystem #Planet #Seeker #SeekerPlus
Read More:
Every Mission to Venus, Ever
planetary.org/space-missions/every-venus-mission
“Venus was one of the first planets to be visited by spacecraft from Earth. Probes do not last long on the surface, where the atmosphere is 50 times denser than Earth's and temperatures are hot enough to melt lead. Spacecraft headed to Mercury use Venus' gravity to adjust their trajectories; even missions headed to the outer solar system often fly by Venus first.”
These scientists spent decades pushing NASA to go back to Venus. Now they’re on a hot streak
popsci.com/space/nasa-new-venus-missions-davinci-veritas
“Our next-door planet is similar to Earth in size and composition, but extreme conditions made Venus a hellscape. Devoted researchers want to know what caused their wildly divergent paths.”
Venus, Earth’s Evil Twin, Beckons Space Agencies
scientificamerican.com/article/venus-earths-evil-twin-beckons-space-agencies
“The newfound interest stands in stark contrast to the fact that nations have long overlooked Venus in favor of chasing Mars, asteroids and other planets. Over the past 65 years, for example, NASA has sent 11 orbiters and eight landers to Mars, but just two orbiters to Venus—and none since 1994. This has not been for lack of scientific interest. Since the mid-1990s, U.S. scientists alone have submitted nearly 30 Venus proposals to NASA.”
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Seeker+ is your home for deep dives, fun facts, rabbit holes, and more. Join host Julian Huguet as he unapologetically nerds out on the oddball history, astounding science and intriguing future around topics that will make you the smartest person at your next trivia night.
--
Seeker empowers the curious to understand the science shaping our world. We tell award-winning stories about the natural forces and groundbreaking innovations that impact our lives, our planet, and our universe.
Follow us on TikTok: tiktok.com/@seeker
Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/seeker
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Venus is hell today, and we’ve got hard evidence to back up that idea. However, thanks to sci-fi, for a long time, people actually thought Venus might be a paradise under its thick clouds. In this episode, we examine how our thoughts of the planet evolved over time.
» Subscribe to Seeker+! bit.ly/SeekerPlusSubscribe (then hit the little 🔔 icon and select “all.“)
» Watch more! http://bit.ly/SeekerPlusPlaylist
» Visit our shop at http://shop.seeker.com
Some science fiction writers imagined Venus as an ocean world without any land, while others wrote about a primordial twin to Earth that was covered in vast forests, had massive sharks dominating the seas, and even mammal-like creatures that were just getting started.
Another vision depicted Venus as more of a paradise, eden-like in almost every regard. These many far-flung ideas about Venus persisted for decades — and without much evidence to suggest otherwise, they remained the popular notions of what life on Venus was like.
Yes, there were a few outliers during this time who thought Venus was a desolate place under those thick clouds, but it took until the height of the Cold War for hard evidence to come through. Thanks to the space race we slowly realized which vision was actually true. The moon gets all the attention but the Soviets and Americans weren’t just focused on the most expensive cheese run in history.
Other celestial bodies were targets for each country’s bragging rights, and their respective space programs sent probes and landers to both Mars and Venus. In 1962, NASA’s Mariner 2 probe reached Venus, which made it the first spacecraft ever to explore another planet. Mariner 1 was supposed to take that title, but because the rocket guidance software had a missing hyphen, the probe went off course and had to be destroyed on launch. Rockets are hard. Still, Mariner 2’s rocket presumably added the hyphen and the mission was a success.
As you can imagine, “firsts” were all the rage during the space race so for Venus that’s USA 1, USSR 0. But besides getting there first, the probe did something incredible; when it scanned the cloud-covered world, it changed our understanding of Venus overnight.
#Venus #SolarSystem #Planet #Seeker #SeekerPlus
Read More:
Every Mission to Venus, Ever
planetary.org/space-missions/every-venus-mission
“Venus was one of the first planets to be visited by spacecraft from Earth. Probes do not last long on the surface, where the atmosphere is 50 times denser than Earth's and temperatures are hot enough to melt lead. Spacecraft headed to Mercury use Venus' gravity to adjust their trajectories; even missions headed to the outer solar system often fly by Venus first.”
These scientists spent decades pushing NASA to go back to Venus. Now they’re on a hot streak
popsci.com/space/nasa-new-venus-missions-davinci-veritas
“Our next-door planet is similar to Earth in size and composition, but extreme conditions made Venus a hellscape. Devoted researchers want to know what caused their wildly divergent paths.”
Venus, Earth’s Evil Twin, Beckons Space Agencies
scientificamerican.com/article/venus-earths-evil-twin-beckons-space-agencies
“The newfound interest stands in stark contrast to the fact that nations have long overlooked Venus in favor of chasing Mars, asteroids and other planets. Over the past 65 years, for example, NASA has sent 11 orbiters and eight landers to Mars, but just two orbiters to Venus—and none since 1994. This has not been for lack of scientific interest. Since the mid-1990s, U.S. scientists alone have submitted nearly 30 Venus proposals to NASA.”
--
Seeker+ is your home for deep dives, fun facts, rabbit holes, and more. Join host Julian Huguet as he unapologetically nerds out on the oddball history, astounding science and intriguing future around topics that will make you the smartest person at your next trivia night.
--
Seeker empowers the curious to understand the science shaping our world. We tell award-winning stories about the natural forces and groundbreaking innovations that impact our lives, our planet, and our universe.
Follow us on TikTok: tiktok.com/@seeker
Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/seeker
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/seeker
