NASA selects two missions for launch to Venus

US space agency NASA has selected two missions – VERITAS and DAVINCI+ – to head to Venus.

Daily Current Affairs Quiz 2021

Venus is the brightest object, after the moon, visible in the night sky from the Earth, which is because of the thick cover of cloud that reflects and scatters light around it.

Moreover, the planet is called Earth’s twin because both the planets are similar in size, but they have quite a few differences.

The thick cloud cover or atmosphere of Venus causes it to trap the heat it receives from the Sun, with surface temperatures going as high as 471 degrees Celsius.

This means that even though Mercury is closest to the Sun, Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system. At such high surface temperatures, even lead can melt on Venus.

Another difference is the fact that while Venus moves forward on its orbit around the Sun – similar to the Earth’s movement – its rotation around its axis is backwards, opposite to the movement of most of the planets, which leads to a much longer day.

A Venus day equates to 243 days on Earth due to this reason. Venus does not have a Moon or any rings.