Manned Venus Mission

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The feasibility of a manned Venus mission was first investigated in the 1960s by both the Soviet Union and the United States . Currently there are studies by NASA for a manned swing-by at Venus en route to Mars in 2033 Template: future / in 5 years. Manned Venus missions would also be necessary for a colonization of Venus .

Technical challenges

Because of the adverse conditions on the surface of Venus , only fly-bys or orbits of the planet, which is at least 38 million kilometers away, were considered. The task is similar to that of a manned flight to Mars , which would have to cover a distance of at least 55 million kilometers. A mission to Venus requires precise interplanetary navigation . Since the two planets move around the sun at different speeds on orbits of different widths, complicated calculations for the space-time relationships and the energy requirement result. In principle, a Hohmann transfer was conceivable and was already being considered at that time . In the case of both great powers, however, it initially stuck to proposals; a manned mission to Venus was not carried out.

Earlier Soviet Concepts

The first investigations and calculations were carried out in the Soviet Union in 1959 in the OKB-1 design office , but with the main objective of a manned mission to Mars . The N1 rocket and the three-seater TMK ( Tjaschelyi Meschplanetnyi Korabl = heavy interplanetary vehicle) were planned. A variant, which was examined in 1963, called Mawr (Mars-Wenera = Mars-Venus), a swing-by maneuver on Venus on the way back in order to shorten the total flight time. The N1 was built, but between 1969 and 1972 all four test flights that were carried out as part of the Soviet manned lunar program failed . The TMK spacecraft never got beyond concept studies.

Earlier US concepts

The NASA examined the possibilities of manned Venus missions in the 1960s as part of the Apollo Applications Program (AAP) using the rocket Saturn V and Apollo spacecraft , both just before its first use in the Apollo program were. It was confirmed that Venus missions can in principle be carried out with the Apollo technology. Since no lunar module would have been carried on these missions , a new module ESM (Environmental Support Module) could have been used, which would have allowed a mission duration of up to two years. The burned-out third rocket stage could also have been used as living and working space, similar to the first drafts of the Skylab space station .

A variant was also examined in which the Apollo spaceship would pivot into a highly elliptical Venus orbit in order to explore the planet from there for 40 days. Such a mission would be much easier to carry out than a comparable Mars mission, which would require at least 70% more weight.

Current plans

As part of NASA's deep space transport project, a flyby of Venus was proposed for 2033. A study commissioned by NASA considers this mission to be feasible only in the late 2030s.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Krafft A. Ehricke : Space flight . Volume 6 of Principles of guided missile design . Van Nostrand, 1962, pp. 979 ff. (Part 2) (English).
  2. ↑ TMK-1 in the Encyclopedia Astronautica , accessed on September 19, 2018 (English).
  3. ↑ Mavr in the Encyclopedia Astronautica , accessed on September 19, 2018.
  4. ^ MS Feldman et al.: Manned Venus Flyby. (PDF) In: NASA TR-67-600-1-1. NASA, February 1, 1967, pp. 7–8 , accessed September 19, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Manned Venus Orbiting Mission in the Encyclopedia Astronautica , accessed on September 19, 2018 (English).
  6. ^ Edward A. Willis Jr .: Manned Venus Orbiting Mission. (PDF) In: NASA TM X-52311. NASA, 1967, p. 11 , accessed on September 19, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Eric Berger: Finally, some details about how NASA actually plans to get to Mars. Ars Technica, March 28, 2017, accessed September 19, 2018 .
  8. ^ Jeff Foust: Independent report concludes 2033 human Mars mission is not feasible. April 18, 2019, accessed April 19, 2019 .