TPO 40 Integrated Writing Task

Maintaining a human presence on Venus would surely be challenging but not impossible as claimed in the article. In the lecture, the professor puts forward a solution that would eliminate all three difficulties mentioned by the writer. The solution is to setting up a balloon-like station that floats about 50 kilometers above Venus surface.

First, there is no doubt that atmospheric pressure on Venus is too high for anything humans might land on. However, if the station is placed high up from the ground, the level of pressure around it will decrease significantly, at an acceptable level as it is on Earth, and thus poses no risks to humans.

Second, as for the lack of water and oxygen on Venus, the speaker suggests that we could create them through a chemical process using compounds obtained directly from Venus. That way, the station would have sufficient water and oxygen for survival without the need for a regular supply of materials from Earth.

Third, it is true that there are clouds in Venus atmosphere that block sunlight from reaching the surface. That being said, at the height of 30 kilometers, the clouds are not as thick and can let sunlight going through to the station. Moreover, the station can also benefit from the amount of sunlight reflected from the clouds above and below it. This means the lack of light for generating electricity on Venus would not be a problem.