A solar-powered airplane is proposed to explore the atmospheric environment of Venus. Venus has several advantages for a solar airplane. At the top of the cloud level, the solar intensity is comparable to or greater than terrestrial solar intensities. The Earthlike atmospheric pressure means that the power required for flight is lower for Venus than that of Mars, and the slow rotation of Venus allows an airplane to be designed for continuous sunlight, with no energy storage needed for night-time flight. These factors mean that Venus is perhaps the easiest planet in the solar system for flight of a long-duration solar airplane.


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    Title :

    Exploring Venus by Solar Airplane


    Contributors:

    Publication date :

    2001


    Size :

    3 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English




    Exploring Venus by Solar Airplane

    Landis, Geoffrey A. | NTRS | 2001


    Exploring Venus by Solar Airplane

    Landis, G. A. / Institute for Space and Nuclear Power Studies | British Library Conference Proceedings | 2001