Buckle up, folks, because we’re about to take a ride through the heart of our solar system to the notorious planet Venus. It’s been the subject of fascination for centuries, with astronomers and space enthusiasts alike dreaming about the possibility of finding intelligent life. But, as it turns out, Venus is a death trap for space probes – and probably for any potential life forms too.

Let’s rewind to the 17th century when Dutch astronomer Christian Huygens peered through his telescope at Venus and thought it resembled a tropical planet, much like a Mexican resort. He even imagined that it could sustain life. Later on, French writer Bernard Lesbovier de Fontanelle picked up on Huygens’ ideas and proclaimed that Venus had to be inhabited by a race of courtly lovers, thanks to its favorable climate. But they were all dead wrong.

Fast forward to the 20th century, and we have modern astronomers discovering that Venus’ atmosphere is nothing like Earth’s – in fact, it’s more like a scorching inferno with temperatures reaching a staggering 500 degrees Celsius. And let’s not forget about the sulfuric acid clouds that engulf the planet. Not exactly the ideal conditions for life, huh?

But, that hasn’t stopped us from being curious about Venus, and we’re more driven than ever to explore its mysteries. Thanks to the Parker Solar Probe, which set off to observe the sun, we’ve managed to capture video footage of Venus’ surface for the first time without relying on powerful radars. And it’s not just NASA that’s interested in Venus – other countries and organizations are in a race to send their own probes to search for signs of life.

NASA’s next mission, the Veritas, is set to launch in 2027 and will scan the entire surface of Venus, including its volcanoes, to understand more about its past habitability. India’s Shukraen orbiter is also on its way to Venus, but it’ll need to land on the surface to unravel the planet’s mysteries fully. To do that, it needs to withstand the planet’s hostile conditions.

That’s where the Soviet Union comes in. In 1966, the Soviet Union launched the Venera 3 probe, which plummeted through Venus’ atmosphere and crash-landed on its surface. But the mission failed to reveal anything new. The subsequent Venera 5 and Venera 6 probes showed that it didn’t take much to land on Venus – but they were quickly destroyed by the intense pressure and heat.

The Soviet Union persevered and sent more probes that eventually sent back photographs and sounds from the planet’s surface. The last probe, Venera 14, provided us with images of an orange smoke-like fog that resembles a liquid under tremendous pressure. If there were birds on Venus, they’d look like fish. It’s been almost forty years since we’ve sent a probe to Venus, but that’s about to change.

NASA’s DaVinci Plus mission, set for launch in 2029, will study Venus’ atmosphere for over an hour and take images of its impressive volcanoes and landscape. The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, is also developing the Venera D mission, set to launch in 2029, which will become the most durable probe ever created to survive Venus’ harsh environment.

Venus may not be the tropical planet Huygens and Fontanelle once imagined, but it’s still a mystery worth exploring. And who knows, maybe one day we’ll discover something we never could have imagined. But for now, let’s enjoy the scientific discoveries and marvel at the progress being made in the field of space exploration.