Seeing as the surface of Venus is much to hot for humans to walk over it just yet - seeing as it's only the second planet to the sun, nearer than Earth -, the future plans where NASA explores the planet might consist of a city on its atmosphere.
After the Moon Landing in 1969, plans for humankind to visit other surfaces in our solar system have been many, though often constrained by technological and even budgetary limitations - now, as the Curiosity Rover gathers information on Mars, the next target may be our neighbor from the other side: Venus.
According to IEEE Spectrum, the idea that NASA explores Venus might be closer than anyone would have previously thought of, since new technologies may allow the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to send a manned mission to the atmosphere of the hottest planet in our solar system.
It seems that, as NASA explores the possibility, a possible plan has been already set out. According to io9, while there is no technology that would currently allow astronauts to enter the surface of this planet, there is a distinct possibility of building a sort of Cloud City on top of its atmosphere, for further investigation - and perhaps to ultimate occupation.
The team of the Langley Research Center NASA department of Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate are calculating that it might be more practical to send human subjects to Venus (or at least, on top of its atmosphere) before reaching the red planet, as the Mars 2020 mission announced in 2012 approaches.
Venus is nearer Earth than Mars, but its surface conditions are much less favorable - Mars holds cold temperatures but not any that wouldn't allow a manned crew to go there; meanwhile, Venus holds almost 500 degrees Celsius in temperature, making it impossible for humans to walk its surface, or at least do so with current technology.
According to Extreme Tech, though, NASA explores the possibility of actually leaving the manned crew around 31 miles above the surface, where the atmosphere is fairly hospitable.
Could this be the next step for NASA, and the one that would bring humans back into the exploration of other planets?
