There is no shortage of people trying to head into space at the moment - think Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and more. But have you ever thought about what it would be like to actually spend time on another planet?
Venus, for example.
It's often called Earth's twin and is named after the Roman goddess associated with love and beauty. But there isn't much to love about the chances of spending - and surviving - just 5 seconds on the planet.
As our nearest planetary neighbor, the second planet from the Sun, it has a surface so hot it can melt lead, according to NASA.
Advert
And, according to a video simulation from the What If show, an award-winning science web series, it can have a temperature of up to 475 °C (900 °F) .
In a video titled What if you spent 5 seconds on Venus?, What If explores what that would look like. And it's not particularly pleasant.
Given that NASA says Venus is, at its nearest, 38 million miles (about 61 million kilometers) from Earth, What If reckons it'd take you four months to get there.
Furthermore, Venus spins backwards and has no seasons, NASA says, and it has a really thick atmosphere that traps heat in what is called a "runaway greenhouse effect", earning it the title of the hottest planet in our solar system.
Advert
But the scorch factor aside, let's say you get to Venus and the extreme surface it has to offer.
From afar, What If says that the "yellowish bands streaking across the sky are clouds of sulfuric acid", so if you did dare to remove your helmet (not recommended) you'd smell rotten eggs.
Bad odour isn't your worst problem though.
Advert
Just 50km above the surface you won't see much, What If explains, and with an atmosphere made up of carbon dioxide, it's thick and traps the heat on the surface making it roasting hot.
Descend down closer and when the haze clears you're likely to see a "rust-colored surface covered in mountains and volcanoes", What If says.
Your mission to land wouldn't be the first.
In 1981, the Soviet probe named Venera 13 made its way to Venus.
Advert
It survived for 127 minutes in what NASA says was temperatures of 457°C and a pressure of 89 Earth atmospheres. If you think that the mean temperature on Earth is 59°F (15°C), according to NASA, that shows you just how hot Venus is.
So, what happened to the Venera 13? Well, What If reckons it was "likely crushed under extreme pressure, or it melted".
Gulp.
But if you were on your mission you couldn't turn back now so you'd have landed and started to try to walk around, which would feel like trudging through extremely hot water.
Advert
You'd be pleased you had protective gear on though because at a temperature hot enough to melt lead, you can't be taking your suit off. If you did, you'd be crushed under the pressure, What If says.
And if the worst case scenario happened - your suit got a tear in it - the shift in pressure, with an atmospheric pressure 90 times that of Earth, you'd be crushed in all directions, What If predicts.
Trying to breathe would be impossible, and if you did inhale, your mouth and throat would get scalded immediately.
And as What If points out, the only, ahem, positive, would be that the sulphuric acid clouds raining acid above you are so high that the toxic rain would evaporate before it reached you.
"So at least you wouldn’t have to worry about acid dissolving your skin and bones," What If says.
Earth may be the safer option for now.