Could we design a lander that could survive more than a few minutes on the surface of Venus?

Question

I can't imagine how.

After all, it's hot enough to melt lead!

Answer 1

Given the success we've had with the Mars rovers, you've asked a very good question. The Cytherean atmosphere creates difficulties for landers due to its density (90 times that of Earth), temperature (up to 500 degrees C--hot enough to melt lead, as you point out), and composition (sulfuric acid). But there are still ideas on how we could create a longer that would last up to 90 days.

Geoffrey Landis has proposed that we could create "dumb" Venus surface rovers that would be controlled by radio signals from computers located in the flyer above; they would only require parts such as motors and transistors to withstand the surface pressure, but not weaker parts involved in microelectronics that could not be made resistant to the heat, pressure and acidic conditions.

Exploring the upper atmosphere wouldn't be nearly as difficult, as temperatures and pressure there are very manageable. (50 km above the surface the atmospheric pressure is equal to sea level on Earth and temps are between 0-100 degrees C). Balloons or winged aircraft could operate there indefinitely, powered by solar energy (the Sun is brighter on Venus than Earth due to distance).

As for polar temperatures, they are barely cooler than temperatures elsewhere since the thick atmosphere is very good at distributing the heat. And there is virtually no water (that is, water vapor) on the planet, so unfortunately the idea of using microbes to convert the atmosphere would be difficult. Of course, water could be brought in from comets or the asteroids.

Check out the references for more information. Venus is a very interesting planet.

Answer 2

Yes that is strange that they always talk about the temperature at its highest but how low do the temperatures get on the north pole during the time it is away from the sun? It might buy you enough degrees to make a lander work. Maybe instead of landing you build floating laboratories at the upper regions of the atmosphere. Seeding the clouds with some Microorganism out of Yellowstone park or those deep sea vents, something that could live on Venus and change its atmosphere form carbon dioxide to other gases and lower the surface temperature in order to land.

Answer 3

At a pressure of 90 atmospheres, or the equivalent pressure of a mile below the ocean, and an atmosphere that is full of acid, I highly doubt it. They "dropped" something into the atmosphere of Venus a number of years ago, ad the thing disintegrated long before it came anywhere near the surface. It is said that something the size of Mars smashed into Earth when it was in its infancy, thus knocking much of the early atmosphere away. Otherwise, the pressure here might also have been around 90 atmospheres-!!

Answer 4

I guess it depends on how you define "few".

The USSR did a great job with the Venera probes. They soft-landed on the surface of Venus and took the first precise measurements of the atmosphere. One lasted almost two hours. That's how we know that the temperature is 465 degree and the pressure is 90 atmospheres.

It's somewhat ironic that the Soviets had such great luck with the probes to Venus and such bad luck with the probes to Mars.

Answer 5

with current methods and technology no.

Its not only the heat, the surface pressure is very high, about 90 x earths surface pressure. The probes that dropped in were crushed.