Most people will look at the current state of Venus and conclude that the Hellish planet is permanently out of reach for humankind and our technologies. With its scorching surface temperature of 870 degrees Fahrenheit or about 465 degrees Celsius, no form of living organism known to earthlings could survive on Venus. Most scientists suggest that humans on Venus will be possible only if our kind may live on Venus clouds as the planet’s atmosphere is thick enough to sustain our futuristic technologies.
Numerous scientific missions to Venus have enabled astronomers to learn that the planet has a similar atmosphere to Earth’s dense clouds. The Atmospheric pressures of the planet at about 48 to 70 kilometers (30 to 43 miles) above Venus’ surface suggest that some human-made technologies could house Earthlings on the hellish planet in the future.
Guillermo Söhnlein, who co-founded OceanGate is planning on sending humans to Venus in the next few decades. In 2013, Söhnlein parted ways with OceanGate to found a new company named Humans2Venus.
The primary goal of this new company is to build a futuristic colony in Venus’ atmosphere, train about 1,000 people to live in the colony, and finally transport interested colonists to the floating habitat on Venus’ thick clouds by 2050.
While this idea may sound like something straight out of science fiction stories, Söhnlein is already researching breathing and acid-resistant technologies that will enable the explorers to overcome troubling issues like sulfuric acid clouds and carbon dioxide on Venus.
The colony that will house these humans will be built to be about 50 kilometers with suitable conditions to Earth. This implies that this futuristic space habitat will have artificial gravity, a day-night system, vegetation, and other interesting natural features that make Earth livable and interesting for earthlings.
Beginning of a New Age In Venus Clouds
While Guillermo Söhnlein anticipates accomplishing his futuristic task to put 1000 people on Venus, we should be expecting more companies to emerge soon with the common goal of sending humans to Venus in the 21st century.
2050 is just 25 years away. However, with the introduction of Artificial Intelligence in developing space technologies, we should be expecting to see a colony on Venus clouds before 2050. No one could predict how technologically advanced we will become before 2050.
However, one thing is certain; humans will not actually do much on Venus in this century. We will successfully land a few rovers and landers directly on the surface of Venus in the coming decades. These future missions to Venus will enable us to understand more about the hellish planet, and then plan ahead on how to conquer its terrain and possibly put humans in floating habitats on its clouds.
Even if Guillermo Söhnlein didn’t succeed in accomplishing his lifelong dream of putting 1000 people in a floating habitat on Venus’ cloud before 2050, we will surely attain such a milestone before 2100. Now, keep in mind that Venus could have been the perfect planet for humans to visit because of its close distance to Earth and almost similar size to our home planet.
However, because of its hellish nature, space agencies chose Mars over it. This implies that humans will advance on Mars before we start thinking of colonizing Venus. Hence, the moment humans land on Mars before 2035, the beginning of a golden age for colonizing Venus will commence immediately.
The Future of Humans on Venus
The future of humans on Venus highly depends on how fast we colonize Mars. According to the Kardashev Scale, humans will have the capability to terraform the planet once we become a type 2 civilization.
As a type 1 civilization, which we will likely become in the next 200 years or less, we will have the ability to control every source of energy on Earth, including Earthquakes, tsunamis, and more. As a type 2 civilization, we will have the ability to trap the entire entire of the Sun using a Dyson sphere.
With our newfound capability, we can terraform planets, moons, and other terrestrial celestial bodies. We may likely reach such a level in the next 3200 years or less. This implies that humans will use their most sophisticated technologies to terraform Venus’ surface and make it livable for Earthlings.
Even though you may not be able to live in Venus’ cloud in this century, your descendants will likely live on the planet’s surface centuries from now. What do you think about the future of humans on Venus?
