Ok, so that may not sound much considering it’s NASA, but the guys over at the space agency have created some pretty mean electronics that could even withstand the heat of Venus. For those of you not in the know, Venus is a very hot planet with temperatures averaging at around 735 Kelvin (462 degrees Celsius or 863 degrees Fahrenheit) on its surface. It also has an atmospheric pressure around 90 times that of Earth, so to make anything that could survive these conditions is pretty good going.
Because of these harsh environments, not many missions have involved Venus directly, and the last lander mission to Venus was in 1984. However, NASA is hoping that with their newly made equipment that will soon change. The new electronics were developed by a team at NASA’s Glenn Research Center and are the first ever of their kind fit to withstand Venus-like conditions. When the equipment was tested inside the Glenn Extreme Environments Rig, which simulates Venus’ conditions, it managed to survive for a total of 521 hours, which is 100 times longer than any other of the planet’s mission electronics.
Gary Hunter is principal investigator at the Center and he says, “This work not only enables the potential for new science in extended Venus surface and other planetary exploration, but it also ha potentially significant impact on a range of Earth relevant applications, such as in aircraft engines to enable new capabilities, improve operations, and reduce emissions.”
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