A team of NASA scientists has successfully developed electronics that can fully operate in the harsh conditions on Venus' surface. This means that with the new developments unfolding, NASA could very soon send a rover towards Venus.
Venus Rover Now Possible
With such further technological development, these electronics could drastically improve the Venus lander designs and mission concepts, which will enable the first long-duration missions towards the surface of Venus. This statement is according to Phil Neudeck, lead electronics engineer for this NASA project, as per TheDailyCaller.
Neudeck continued, "We have demonstrated vastly longer electrical operation with chips directly exposed to Venus-like conditions-no cooling and no protective chip packaging-towards a high-fidelity physical and chemical reproduction of Venus' surface atmosphere."
Venus' Harsh Conditions
The extreme conditions on Venus have presently prevented landers from operating on the planet's surface for no longer than a few hours. Venus' average surface temperature is roughly at 864 degrees Fahrenheit, making it even hotter than most typical ovens.
Common electronics is simply unable to operate in such a harsh environment, forcing any lander to be protected by thermal and pressure-resistant shells. Unfortunately, these shells only last a few hours, and aside from that, they are extremely expensive, which limits the amount of science that can be done on the planet.
The Best Solution - A Rover!
According to Chron, Scientists have recently built a super durable computer chip that can withstand Venus' extreme conditions. Even though Venus is a lot closer to Earth than Mars, most of our planet's collective imagination has been focused on the red planet.
The very last time that humans landed on Venus was in 1985 when a Soviet space probe transmitted data for 56 minutes in total before finally succumbing towards the planet's harsh conditions.
Now, scientists are on the verge of developing safeguarding vessels that will be the solution towards suffering from a similar fate.
