Mysteries Remain
Even after the highly successful Magellan mission, many questions about Venus remain unanswered.
- How old is the surface? Has Venus undergone massive volcanic resurfacing? Is volcanic activity still underway?
- Do different areas have different kinds of rock? How do the surface and atmosphere interact chemically? How quickly does weathering occur?
- What is the precise chemical composition of the atmosphere? How does it vary with location and altitude? When and how did Venus's runaway greenhouse effect occur? Did Venus ever have an ocean?
 [72k JPEG] Artist's conception of an aerobot over Venus. Courtesy of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
Future Missions to Venus
Future missions may answer some of these questions. They could include long-lived landers, specialized descent probes, aerobots (controllable balloons), and long-term orbital atmospheric monitoring satellites. |
Earth-based Observations
|| Seeing Through The Clouds || Volcanism
|| Craters
Other Surface Features || A
Global View || Missions To Venus || Mysteries
Remain
Venus Facts || Imagery
Index
©2002 National Air and Space Museum
![[72k JPEG]](venusimg/P18.JPEG){kind=link}