Conquering Venus: How technology will aid in exploring the planet's toxic environment.

High-Temperature Electronics and Long-Lived Devices

The first challenge faced by Venusian research devices in the last century was the inability to operate for any significant duration on the inhospitable planet's surface. The maximum was two hours under extreme temperatures (averaging 470°C) and pressures (90 Earth atmospheres), after which the electronics would fail. During this time, the devices could transmit a few photographs and data about the soil at the landing site via telemetry.

For longer studies, there was a need to create electronics that could withstand extreme temperatures – the most vulnerable component of landing devices. Such electronics have already been developed: surprisingly, they are literally vacuum tube-based. This technology began the development of computer technology in the mid-20th century, and it is the only technology suitable for extended operation in the hellish environment of Venus.

“As one might guess, these are simple computing machines that are far less powerful than ordinary smartphones, but they have a chance to operate for a month or even several months on Venus, which is particularly relevant for monitoring seismic activity,” notes the expert.

Knowledge about Venus's geology has remained extremely fragmented and unsystematic. Automatic devices from the past landed randomly and analyzed the soil, photographing the surface only at the landing site. Scientists managed to establish that the planet's surface consists of basalt (essentially solidified lava), but what lies beneath the planet's depths remains a mystery to this day. Without information about the layers of rock beneath the surface, it is impossible to reconstruct Venus's geological history and, consequently, answer the most crucial question in planetary research: why did the planet closest to Earth become lifeless, and what happened in Venus's distant past?

Significant contributions to answering this question could come from seismic studies conducted by the long-lived landing device.

The fact is that seismic research requires a lot of time. Sensitive instruments, seismographs, wait for the planet's activity or the impact of some body on its surface (asteroid, meteorite): such events could happen tomorrow, in a week, in a month, or in several months. Here, an automatic long-lived research device with vacuum tube electronics would be very useful.

However, there is another, faster, but more challenging option: to artificially induce planetary activity by detonating a powerful, possibly nuclear, charge on its surface. But such a charge needs to be delivered and buried beneath the soil to avoid affecting Venus's climate, and most importantly, several sensors must be installed in different parts of the planet to recreate a three-dimensional picture of the geological layers. This is a more complex and costly path. However, it could very likely provide an answer to the fundamental question of planetary scientists: why is there no magnetic field on Venus, like there is on Earth?

Smart Drones and the Venusian Atmosphere

Until now, Venus's atmosphere has been studied using balloons. During the Venera mission (1984-1986), balloons proved to be a promising tool in the hands of scientists: they not only managed to capture key atmospheric data (temperature, wind speed, pressure), but also turned out to be true long-livers compared to landing devices: two days versus two hours. The reason is simple: in the upper layers of Venus's atmosphere, both temperature and pressure are closely approaching Earth levels.

However, the downside of classical balloons is their uncontrolled flight, and consequently, the randomness in data collection. At the same time, just a few years ago, the use of a controlled drone helicopter on Mars demonstrated its effectiveness: the little Ingenuity explored an area of 17 kilometers in three years, while the Opportunity rover managed to cover no more than 50 kilometers in 15 years.

“In a sense, it will be more comfortable for quadcopters to operate on Venus. The Martian helicopter had an extremely low lift mass because there is almost no air on the Red Planet. It had to spin its rotor very quickly. On Venus, this problem does not exist. Here, the helicopter will not need much effort to create a very good lift, as the air is dense and viscous. As a result, flight will be accompanied by less strain on the engine and, consequently, lower fuel consumption. The helicopter will be able to fly calmly, one might even say slowly drift, moving from place to place and carefully lifting even large loads,” explains Ivan Rudoy.

The main challenge for drones on Venus is the extreme surface temperatures, while any engine, whether electric or thermal, requires cooling. Therefore, such a drone will only be able to fly at high altitudes, around 50-70 kilometers, where temperatures are closer to Earth's. Moreover, if on Earth a helicopter cannot fly at such altitudes due to the thin air, on Venus, where the atmosphere is dense even at the top, it is quite the opposite.

An even more promising idea is to launch not one helicopter, as was done on Mars, but thousands of small drones, for example, the size of a hand. These self-driving little machines could scatter to different points on the planet and gather the most comprehensive information about the atmosphere as a whole. Such helicopters would not live long, at most a couple of days, as they would lack a powerful battery and reliable engines at that size, but in their short lifespan, they would be able to collect data from thousands of different locations simultaneously. This would allow for the creation of an online map of atmospheric processes on Venus and possibly uncover one of the planet's mysteries: the sulfur cycle in Venusian nature.

However, for the coordinated operation of such a large number of drones, a whole series of satellites would need to be launched, effectively creating a Venusian analogue of GLONASS or GPS, as well as equipping the little drones with artificial intelligence to ensure autonomy and manageability in data collection.

A controllable balloon could also have promising applications if it were designed like a dirigible with an engine. In this case, it would not only be a more resilient but also an economical drone, as the balloon would not need to expend energy on lift, while a drone helicopter must constantly operate its rotors to avoid falling. Consequently, the engine would run longer, and fuel consumption would be lower.

Orbital Research and Modern Electronics

A much more accessible, cost-effective, and familiar way to study Venus is from orbit. Automatic orbital devices from the past operated for quite a long time; for example, Magellan, whose Venusian map is still used by scientists, lasted over four years in orbit. The very position of Venus aids the work of such spacecraft: due to its proximity to the Sun, they do not require as many solar panels as, say, on Mars.

The main problem with such devices is the inevitable descent from orbit. To capture higher-quality images, they have to descend to the boundary with the atmosphere. Air resistance slows down their orbital rotation, and over time, the device simply begins to “fall” down. Therefore, stations must correct their orbit, that is, return back into space by firing their engines. This is similar to how a dolphin must constantly surface to breathe to avoid dying. However, when the fuel for the engines runs out, the orbital device descends from orbit and perishes. While our ISS can be continuously “boosted” with regularly sent ships from Earth, maintaining a Venusian device in orbit is too costly.

But now, with the advent of high-precision electronics, it is possible to extend the lifespan of orbital devices, as flying at a higher, completely atmosphere-free orbit will prevent such devices from descending, allowing them to operate for decades.

Modern high-precision electronics can also enhance the quality of the planet's studies. For example, multispectral cameras can capture images in both visible and invisible (ultraviolet and infrared) spectra simultaneously. Such cameras might help uncover yet another secret of Venus: the “invisible ultraviolet absorber,” i.e., abnormal zones of ultraviolet radiation absorption.

Gravitational scanners could assist in recreating Venus's geological map by showing denser and less dense areas of the surface. Such scanners are used on Earth to discover valuable minerals.

Perhaps it is from orbit, through more thorough investigation of the layer of Venusian clouds, that we can answer the main question in the study of Venus: is there life on this planet? Because if it exists, it can only be found where both temperature and pressure approach Earth levels.

This material was prepared with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia.