Time to explore Venus with 'inflatable aircraft'

Exploring Venus will now seem to be easier with Northrop Grumman's new idea of an inflatable aircraft.

It is being claimed that Venus Atmospheric Maneuverability Platform (VAMP) will allow NASA to skim Venus's upper atmosphere with an inflatable aircraft, deployed from space, which would be so light that it would stay up with little to no energy, the Verge reported.

People in the space industry see Venus as a more practical alternative to Mars exploration as it is closer. The surface of the planet is uninhabitable, hot and dense enough to melt lead, but a settlement floating in Venus's clouds would find temperatures, pressures, and radiation levels remarkably similar to Earth.

The VAMP is intended to reach deeper into Venus's atmosphere than the Venus Express did, assembling more information and providing vital practical experience in how to outfit a craft to survive in Venus's unique atmosphere.