Japanese Spacecraft Approaches Venus - NASA Science
"Evening Star." Venus shines over Costa da Caparica, Portugal. Credit: Miguel Claro.
August 16, 2010: For the next few months, Venus will be softly resplendent in the evening sky, a treat for stargazers - but looks can be deceiving.
Consider this: The Venusian surface is hot enough to melt lead. The planet's 96% carbon dioxide atmosphere is thick and steamy with a corrosive mist of sulfuric acid floating through it. The terrain is forbidding, strewn with craters and volcanic calderas - and bone dry.
Takeshi Imamura can't wait to get there. . . . More: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/16aug_vco/