The ambitious project would see the plane cruise through the sulfurous skies of Venus for years, sampling the acidic alien atmosphere directly and observe the venusian surface from 50 km up.
The ambitious project would see the plane cruise through the sulfurous skies of Venus for years, sampling the acidic alien atmosphere directly and observe the venusian surface from 50 km up.
A US Company is Planning to build a plane that could fly through Venus’s atmosphere in 2021.
However, the plane faces a battle to get USD 1 billion in funding from NASA in order to get off the ground.
Called the Venus Atmospheric Maneuverable Platform (VAMP), the concept for the vehicle is currently being drawn up by the company Northrop Grumman. VAMP would have a wingspan of 55 metres with an estimated top speed of 220km/h.
The ground temperature on Venus hovers around 460 degrees Celsius. Ambient surface pressure is about 90 Earth atmospheres, 'Space News' reported.
The company behind the concept - Northrum Grumman is confident it can build a working prototype in the next few years. If it were to win the NASA funding - of up to $1 billion - it would have to be mission ready for 2021.
The High Altitude Venus Concept (HAVOC) mission would use a helium-filled, solar powered airship around 130 metres long with a small capsule for carrying humans below it.
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