1VENUS HAS A RICH HISTORY
Studies of Venus can be traced back to the ancient Babylonians in 1600 BCE. They tracked the movement of several planets and stars. The oldest astronomical document on record is a Babylonian diary of Venus appearances over a 21-year period. Venus played a serious part in the mythology of ancient civilisations, including the Maya and Greeks. Its name comes from the Roman goddess of love and beauty.
2THE PRESSURE’S ON
Walking around on Venus would be an unbearable experience for astronauts for several reasons, but one of them is the extreme pressures on the surface. The atmosphere creates air pressure that’s over 90 times the air pressure on Earth, which is similar to the pressure around a kilometre (0.6 miles) deep in the ocean.
1 Atmosphere
96.5 per cent is carbon dioxide, with nitrogen, sulphur dioxide, argon, carbon monoxide, helium and more.
2 Crust
Venus’ crust is made of silicate rocks and is estimated to be 50 kilometres (31 miles) thick.
3 Metallic core
Venus’ iron core consists of a solid inner and liquid outer core 3,200 kilometres (2,000 miles) in radius.
4 Molten mantle
The heat from the core creates a molten mantle that is 3,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) thick.
