Re:Momentum is building to explore Venus
by autokad on Thursday June 06, 2019 @07:13PM
(#20120149)
i think the primary reason for US interest in mars is due to the fact that it is much more likely that mars #1) previously contained life and #2) we will be able to find evidence of #1 on mars, vs venus.
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On the other hand, NASA’s (recent!) insistence that everything be justified in terms of the search for life is not shared by everybody.
I for example really don’t care at all about potential microbial life vs. extending the domain of earth’s life through permanent settlement and terraformation of both Mars and Venus.
The cloud cover on Venus is so thick it could contain life right now. The belief that it’s necessarily barren due to extreme conditions predates the widespread knowledge of extremophile earthbound life. If you gave me better than even odds that there is life on Venus I’d take them.