Venus' surface is a hellish place, but that won't stop NASA's future landers from trying to explore it.
A new NASA video makes the case that Venus is Earth's"evil twin."
The nefarious moniker is revealed to be, in a way, an apt description of why astronomers will be investigatingthis decade. Scientists and engineers from NASA and the European Space Agency are gearing up to send three new missions to the second rock from the sun. They want to know a whole lot more about the nearby planet, which resemblesThe video touches on a few nightmarish but intriguing aspects of Venus. For one, it's got a runaway greenhouse effect.
The key to the new battery is using Venus' extreme temperature to the lander's advantage, in the form of low-discharge molten salt. This material has sufficiently high power density and is easily stored and maintained on Earth, since salt's high melting point means that it will remain solid and inert on our planet while retaining its energy potential for many years.
A major problem with molten salt batteries that already exist today is their high rates of self-discharge, caused by internal electrochemical reactions, which limits a normal thermal battery with a molten salt electrolyte to only a few hours of use on Venus. According to, ATB recently developed a 17-cell battery prototype that was able to limit the battery-draining internal reactions to significantly extend the battery's life.
This enabled ATB's battery to discharge between 19 volts and 25 volts for 118 days, almost twice LLISSE's operational power requirements, before corrosion reached the positive lead on the battery.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
30 years of NASA's Magellan mission may finally solve how Venus coolsA long-standing mystery of how Venus loses its heat could finally be explained by peculiar geological structures picked up by NASA's Magellan mission.
Read more »
NASA Says Venus Is Being Remade by a Squishy ShellUsing old data, NASA has discovered that Venus' mantle may be 'squishy' and full of volcanic activity, which could explain one of its biggest mysteries.
Read more »
Before and after photos from space show epic snow blanketing SoCal mountainsAfter last week’s epic winter storm hit Southern California, new satellite photos from NASA Earth Observatory show snow covering the region’s mountains
Read more »
Venus’ Outer Shell is Thinner and “Squishier” Than Previously BelievedWhile Earth and Venus are approximately the same size and both lose heat at about the same rate, the internal mechanisms that drive Earth’s geologic processes differ from its neighbor. It is these Venusian geologic processes that a team of researchers led by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the California Institute of Technology hope … Continue reading 'Venus’ Outer Shell is Thinner and “Squishier” Than Previously Believed'
Read more »
Venus is Like an Exoplanet that's Right Next DoorUpcoming missions to Venus will teach us a lot about our 'exoplanet next door.' The same missions will also shed light on exoplanets.
Read more »
Watch Venus and Jupiter's dazzling sky show finale this weekGrab a telescope and head outside to watch the big finale of Venus and Jupiter's dazzling night sky show later this week.
Read more »