Venus (Earth's evil twin)

What and where is Venus ?

The second planet from the sun, named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty is Venus. It is mainly made up of the colors yellow, white, and a tint of orange. Venus was similar to Earth in the early days of our solar system, but things changed drastically and sciences believe climate change could be the reason why it became inhabitable. Despite the similarities between our Earth and Venus ( in size, density, gravity, and the fact it has a rocky structure), Venus is extremely different. Starting off with its rotation, it is in the opposite direction of Earth's and takes nearly a year (243 Earth days) for it to complete a single rotation, which literally means a single day is nearly a year over there. It is also the hottest planet in our solar system because of its intense atmosphere that traps the heat inside of it, and also its constantly active surface of volcanoes just makes it even HOTTER !! And for all the stargazers, you know how easy it is to spot Venus in the sky because of its intense brightness.

Image of Venus in the dark cosmos​

Picture on Venus's surface

The latest mission announcements to Venus

 According to NASA, "Venus has been visited by several spacecraft: Mariner 2, Mariner 5, Mariner 10, Pioneer Venus 1, Pioneer Venus 2, and an orbiter called Magellan." meaning it has been visited 6 times, but recently a new mission has been announced that will tell us more about its twisted world. The mission's goal is extremely interesting and I personally cannot wait to find out what it has to offer in terms of solid answers. From the Smithsonian Magazine, "NASA selected two new missions to study the second planet from the sun. These two missions will set out to understand how Earth’s sister planet may have been the first habitable planet in the solar system and how it has become the volcanic and mountainous planet it is today. Both are expected to launch by 2028 to 2030." The first mission is VERITAS which will focus on mapping the planets surface and attempt to explain why it developed so differently from Earth. And the second mission is DAVINCI+ which is meant to be more focused on Venus's atmosphere and how it formed. ​

Description of the future Venus Missions

Final Thoughts

Finding out more about Venus won't just help us get answers about itself but also why Earth is the way it is and why despite the similarities Venus took a dark turn. Thank you and stay safe.