Results: This is a survey about some places you should NOT plan to visit even if you had the means to get there
As we sit indoors, escaping the worst that winter has to offer, we could be forgiven if we started dreaming of a vacation somewhere where it isn't cold and damp. Once we start planning however, those dreams may face the reality of a lack of money, lack of reliable transportation, the cost of travel insurance etc. These are minor inconveniences. I was watching a documentary the other day that gave many reasons why we should never send humans to Mars, even as we spend huge efforts and $Billions attempting to do just that. I will provide a link to that documentary at the end. Some of our other planets have such extreme hazards that they overshadow the rest. A visit to some of them would prove fatal in a matter of seconds. Here is what a visit would be like for those precious few seconds.
1.
1.
Let's start with Mercury. Here are why a visit there is almost guaranteed to kill you and fast. Which of these are worse than you were aware of?
Mercury, the smallest planet, has almost no atmosphere. (I'm surprised it has any). This leaves its surface, and anyone on it, exposed to intense solar radiation.
32%
•
510 votes
Daytime temperatures can rise to 430°C, while nights plunge to –180°C.
36%
•
571 votes
Mercury orbits the Sun in a fast, oval-shaped orbit, completing one year in just 88 Earth days, making it the fastest planet. It spins three times for every two orbits, creating long, extreme temperature shifts between scorching days and freezing nights
27%
•
429 votes
A human on Mercury would be both unshielded from deadly radiation and subject to rapid heating or freezing, with death occurring within minutes.
32%
•
505 votes
None
40%
•
646 votes
2.
2.
At one time it was thought that we could live on Venus, after all, it is almost the same size as Earth and orbits closer to the sun. It would be warmer but we could cope with that. Reality is much different. NASA describes Venus as the most hostile planet in the Solar System for human life. Here are some of the reasons why your life on Venus would be measured in only a few seconds if you were even able to land there. Which of them are even worse than you imagined?
Conditions there are lethal. Its thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide and sulphuric acid clouds exerts a surface pressure about 92 times that of Earth's sea-level pressure, equivalent to being 1 kilometer deep in Earth's ocean.
36%
•
573 votes
Combined with surface temperatures averaging 465°C, a human would be crushed and burned almost instantly.
37%
•
597 votes
Some of Russia's Venera probes managed to land on Venus. They used heavily reinforced, over-engineered titanium bodies with robust cooling systems, achieving the first soft landings and surface images before succumbing to the extreme environment in a few minutes. Those that didn't make it are now almost indestructible space debris.
24%
•
379 votes
Venus is an example of what can happen if the levels of CO2 and S02 that we try to manage here on Earth are allowed to increase past the point of no return. Venus is like climate change on steroids.
25%
•
394 votes
None
41%
•
653 votes
3.
3.
So what's so wrong about Mars then? Mars is the most studied planet after Earth, and while it is a target for future exploration, its environment remains deadly. We managed to land on the moon several times using what is now considered very primitive equipment. All we need is to have the determination to do it and people with "The Right Stuff." Well the moon was easy by comparison. Here are some of the difficulties that the moon landings didn't have. Which of them are more serious than you thought?
Distance & Time: Mars is vastly further away (55 to 400 million km), requiring years-long missions, while the Moon is only ~385,000 km, allowing for quick trips.
33%
•
534 votes
The communication delay from Mars to Earth, ranges from about 3 minutes to over 20 minutes one-way, meaning a round trip can take 6 to 40+ minutes. If anything goes wrong help will not be on the way anytime soon.
30%
•
474 votes
Mars mission isolation involves long-duration confinement, testing human endurance and psychology like never before. In the event of an argument you can't go for a walk to cool off.
31%
•
503 votes
None
45%
•
714 votes
- No thanks.
- how about doing a survey about the planet Uranus
- No!
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