Forget Mars, Let's terraform the Venus! - VastlyCurious

 Terraforming the Venus is a very ambitious goal to achieve and we haven't even terraformed a single stellar body in our solar system. We have to explore other planets and keep our species diverse throughout the solar system to avoid any possible existential crisis. Venus might be our best choice to colonize according to many scientists as it is similar to Earth in many ways. Could we live there one day? How different would it be from living on Earth?

Terraforming the Venus. Source: NASA

Why terraform Venus?

    Venus is pretty similar to our planet and the planet is also referred to as the Earth's sister planet. They almost have the same mass and also the same diameter. Both the planets are made up of similar elements and also the gravity of Venus is also comparable to our planet. Venus also consists of a solid iron core and a thick mantle surrounding the core. It is also in close proximity to our planet and hence transportation of material to the planet is relatively easy. Venus also resides in the Goldilocks zone (habitable zone). That is why some scientists are interested in colonizing Venus rather than try to colonize mars which don't even have a proper atmosphere. 

Artist's rendering of Venus Cloud city.
 Image credits: NASA

   NASA even had the idea of building the floating cities on Venus until the proper terraforming can be done to the planet's surface. The floating will have solar arrays which would power them and they would also act as a shield from the sun, letting the planet cool down. But even though Venus is similar to Earth in terms of mass and diameter, it has various difficulties as it lacks a proper atmosphere and proper magnetic field. Will terraforming Venus be easier than terraforming mars and how can we do this?

Venus Vs Mars

    We have three stellar bodies which are close to our planet: the Moon, Mars and Venus. Unfortunately colonization the moon is a massive job to do, there is no hope for life there. But both Mars and Venus are potential candidate, which are close to Earth and both planets are in the habitable zone. Mars is cooler than Earth, but Venus is extremely hot and so we need to nuke mars to create an atmosphere and heat it up. We need to deploy hydrogen bombs on Venus to create an atmosphere. Mars is a terrible place to colonize, there is no proper atmosphere there and it is also a dusty planet. But definitely terraforming Venus is much harder than terraforming the mars.

Terraforming the Red planet

    But Venus has its own advantage over mars as it could be possible to live in giant floating cities until the planet's surface and atmosphere is ready. Mars gravity is also only a fraction of Earth's, but Venus almost has the same gravity as our planet. But one day on mars is equal to one day and 37 minutes, so we won't even notice the difference on mars, whereas one day on Venus lasts for about 243 Earth days. So both the planet has their own benefits and their drawbacks if you look in terms of terraforming them. But the space agencies seems to be targeting mars for their missions. But terraforming an entire planet requires enormous energy and futuristic technologies.

    

How to terraform Venus?

    Even though the Earth and Venus have various similarities, Venus is entirely different from Earth in terms of temperature and atmosphere. Venus is extremely hot with an average surface of Venus being 462 degrees Celsius (864 degrees Fahrenheit) which is enough to melt lead and it also has a toxic atmosphere with fumes in its atmosphere. The atmosphere could be difficult for humans to live in as the atmosphere is 93 times heavier than our planet. With these many difficulties in hand, it will not be a walk in the park. We don't have the technology to terraform any stellar body yet, but there might be a way for the future civilization to terraform the hot Venus.

    Firstly, we would need to create a proper atmosphere and go on to clear up the other concerns, fortunately solving the atmosphere problem could actually aid us to sort out the other major concerns on the planet. To create an atmosphere on Venus we might try to drop hydrogen bombs on the surface of Venus and the hydrogen reacts with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and forms graphite and water. With the amount of carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere, we could cover 80% of the planet's surface with water. This could also aid us clear the sulfuric acid in the atmosphere.

The Radar image of Venus by NASA's Magellan spacecraft.
 Source:NASA

    Now the atmosphere and water on the planet are ready, we need to fix the temperature issue as the planet is extremely hot and we could vaporize the water on the planet. In order to reduce the temperature of the planet, we need to block the sunlight. This could be done by implementing the plan of floating cities on Venus, which could act as a shield and help us reduce the temperature on the planet, or the better idea to cool down the planet is to place a large shield between the Sun and Venus. It might take decades, if not centuries to cool down the entire planet and the planet's atmosphere and temperature are arranged.

    A day on Venus would last about 243 Earth days and so it is going to be one hell of a day on the planet. Unfortunately, we couldn't modify the day and night cycle on the planet. We might try to replicate the sun by having a large mirror and creating an artificial sunrise and sunset on Venus. But that's not going to be a simple job to do. But if we actually terraform the planet, it could become humanity's second home or our second hope. Even if the plan doesn't work the knowledge we gain about cooling Venus could help us cool down our planet and make our home last longer.