The Stays of at Least 7 Probes Could Nonetheless Exist on This Hellish Planet

As the hottest planet in the solar system, Venus is an uninviting, hostile world with crushing atmospheric pressure and surface temperatures hot enough to melt lead. Due to its harsh environment, it was widely presumed that Venus would have destroyed any spacecraft sent to its surface, leaving nothing behind. However, a new study suggests there may be a few remaining artifacts that haven’t yet wasted away to oblivion.

A team of space archaeologists set out to understand the extent to which material left on the surface of Venus can be preserved. By analyzing 15 missions that visited the planet between 1965 and 1985, the team suspects that at least seven may have endured the Venusian environment and ended up as relics of space heritage on the surface.

The findings, published in Geoarchaeology, suggest that despite Venus’ extreme heat and corrosive atmosphere, the planet’s slow geological processes and global climatic stability show high potential for long-term preservation of space artifacts.

A trip to hell

Venus has earned the title of Earth’s evil twin due to its extreme temperatures and toxic atmosphere. Despite being identical in size, mass, and composition to Earth, Venus’ thick atmosphere traps heat in a runaway greenhouse effect, and its surface temperatures reach about 872 degrees Fahrenheit (467 Celsius), according to NASA. The atmospheric pressure on Venus is also incredibly high, around 93 times what it is at sea level on Earth.

Based on what researchers know about Venus, they assumed that spacecraft would not survive for long once on the surface. To get a better understanding of Venus’ potential to preserve the remains of its visitors, the researchers behind the new study recreated the harsh Venusian environment at NASA’s Glenn Extreme Environments Rig (GEER) lab.

A team led by Luca Forassiepi, space archaeologist and independent researcher, carried out a case study on NASA’s Pioneer Venus Day Probe, which launched in 1978. The probe was designed to collect data on Venus’ atmosphere as it descended toward the planet’s surface.

Surprisingly, the small probe survived the hard impact and transmitted data from the surface for 67 minutes, 37 seconds, before being overcome by the high temperatures, atmospheric pressures, and power depletion. The lab simulation, however, showed that some of the probe’s parts may have survived long after the mission’s last transmission.

Space artifacts

The Pioneer probe was mostly made of titanium, with beryllium shelves and aluminum equipment boxes inside. Tests inside the simulated Venusian environment at GEER showed that titanium has excellent resistance to the surface conditions on Venus, so the probe would’ve mostly retained its shape, according to the study.

The aluminum equipment would’ve also remained largely intact due to a similar type of resistance as the titanium. The probe’s O-rings and gaskets, which were used for maintaining its internal pressurization, would have likely failed from prolonged exposure to the planet’s environment.

The study found that the probe’s descent toward the surface would have left it a little banged up, but not completely destroyed. Venus’ clouds are made up of highly concentrated sulfuric acid, which would have likely ruptured and deformed the probe during its plunge. Still, the authors behind the study are hopeful that a spacecraft with strong imaging capability could one day capture the deformed Pioneer probe at its landing site after all those years.

Based on the findings, the team of researchers believes that at least seven of the probes that have visited Venus were sturdy enough to survive on the surface and may still be there today. These spacecraft not only represent a part of the history of space exploration—they also help inform future missions to other worlds that may be equally hellish and unwelcoming.

There are several missions lined up to explore Venus within the next few years, including NASA’s DAVINCI (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble Gases, Chemistry and Imaging) and VERITAS, both tentatively scheduled to launch in 2030 and 2031.