🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1993Jan24.063904.27492@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu>, rkornilo@nyx.cs.du.edu (Ryan Korniloff) writes:
> Hmmm, well, I guess if we were to make any kind of serious exploration of
> Venus's  surface we would have to develop electronics componants that
> operate comforably at 900f. And metals that can protect the inards of the
> probe from terrential sulfuric acid down-poors..
> How WOULD we do that by the way? Anyone know??

The main constraint on the spacecraft's survival on the surface of Venus has 
been the temperature.  The Soviets often chilled the interior of their 
spacecraft before parachuting them down to the surface. 900F is about
2 to 3 times the temperature of your conventional oven.  Lead melts at
that temperature.  As a comparison, the Viking landers were sterilized by 
heating them to 235F for 24 hours.  Anything on the surface of Venus is 
literally being roasted.  
     ___    _____     ___
    /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|     Ron Baalke         | baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
    | | | |  __ \ /| | | |     Jet Propulsion Lab |
 ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |__   M/S 525-3684 Telos | Every once in a while,
/___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | try pushing your luck.
|_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                     |