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Would it be theoretically possible to听build a large habitable dome on听the surface of Venus, one of听the听most inhospitable places in听the听solar system?

Mark Thompson
Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, UK

Good luck! Venus has the densest terrestrial atmosphere in the solar system, at around 93 times thicker than Earth鈥檚.

To put this into context, imagine having 93 kilograms resting on 1 square centimetre of your body. It would be like having a giant panda sitting with all its weight on your little toe. So, you would need a method of moving from your spacecraft to the dome, because, when standing on the surface of Venus, you would be crushed by the sheer mass of all the atmosphere on top of you.

Your next problem is that the thick Venusian atmosphere is composed mainly of carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas. So, when the sun鈥檚 light heats the planet, the warmth can鈥檛 efficiently radiate back into space because it is trapped by the CO₂ . This heats the planet up dramatically. On the surface of Venus, temperatures can reach around 460掳C, making it the hottest planet in the solar system.

Hillary Shaw
Newport, Shropshire, UK

The two biggest problems with living on Venus might be your source of power and your water supply.

We could probably design and maybe even build a dome there that could resist the horrendous conditions of 93 bar pressure, 467掳C temperature and sulphuric acid rain. We would even have a possible oxygen supply because the Venusian atmosphere is 96 per cent CO₂ , the rest being mainly nitrogen and a dash of sulphur dioxide.

However, you then need a power source to turn the CO₂ into oxygen and, crucially, to cool your dome, and there is very little water there. That means not much hydrogen, which could be used as a fuel.

Worse, the quantity of solar radiation reaching the surface of the planet is just 25 watts per square metre, well below Earth鈥檚 of around 342 watts per square metre. It is hard to see what other energy sources are readily available to human colonisers on the Venusian surface.

Venus is likely to have volcanism, but this energy may be hard to harness. You almost have the basic ingredients of plant fertiliser 鈥� from the elements nitrogen, sulphur, carbon, oxygen and maybe phosphorus 鈥� present on the Venusian surface, but not in anything like a form we could use as fertiliser, without an energy source to convert them.

Also, Venus鈥檚 surface gravity is similar to that on Earth and to get back home, you would be going up the sun鈥檚 鈥済ravity gradient鈥� (or on a long, roundabout gravitational slingshot journey). It is a one-way journey for the robots we send.

David Bortin
Whittier, California, US

I can say with complete confidence that it isn鈥檛 鈥渢heoretically possible to build a large habitable dome on the surface of Venus鈥�, since no one in my lifetime has any chance of doing it. But simply as a question of theoretical engineering and technological feasibility, I can鈥檛 say 鈥渘ever鈥�.

Baby steps have already been taken: in 1985, an uncrewed Soviet probe survived on the surface of Venus for almost an hour. In the US, NASA鈥檚 DAVINCI mission is on the agenda for a 2029 launch to orbit Venus, sniff around and case the joint for a couple of years, then ultimately deploy a surface probe.

What convinces me of the idea鈥檚 theoretical impossibility isn鈥檛 just the 鈥渉ow on Venus?鈥� question, but also the one about 鈥渨hy on Venus?鈥�. Justification through return on investment calculations is a necessary first step to selling any major project to sources of financing. Investment includes exporting all materials, supplies and consumables (including water) from Earth to Venus, as well as volunteers recruited for a one-way trip to hell.

Payoff includes: the ability to study close up the consequences of climate change and a runaway greenhouse effect (which, if there are any questions left to be answered, could be better addressed by remote devices less combustible than human bodies); the 鈥渂ecause it鈥檚 there鈥� human mindset that drives people to climb Mount Everest or to swim from Cuba to Florida; and, finally, the satisfaction of proving me wrong.

To answer this question 鈥� or ask a new one 鈥� email lastword@newscientist.com.

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