Venus: Difference between revisions
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Venus (Sol II) is the second planet of the Sol System and is classified as a Class K. Venus is named after the Roman goddess of beauty. It remains one of the least hospitable planets in the Sol System, despite efforts of Federation scientists to change this. It orbits its sun as a distance varying between 0.72 and 0.73 astronomical units. It has a size and density comparable to Earth's, but Venus possesses a thick atmosphere of carbon dioxide that traps radiant heat from Sol. With a pressure nearly 90 times that of Earth and a surface temperature in the hundreds of degrees Celsius, the planet's surface is a hellish environment. The atmosphere rotates approximately 60 times faster than the planet itself, which, coupled with solar heating and convection, makes for extreme weather conditions.
These conditions make Venus of limited interest to those outside Starfleet. The Federation has been working on terraforming Venus for several decades. Personnel from the Federation's Terraforming Division are working to change the conditions on Venus. Five terraforming stations have been established on the planet's surface in the past eighty years. Over that time, the terraformers have managed to decrease the carbon monoxide in the atmosphere, reducing the surface pressure and temperature. However, they still have a long way to go before the surface of the planet is habitable. Estimates place the project's completion sometime in the next century. Starfleet Academy has a training center in low orbit above Venus, used for training pilots in harsh atmosphere conditions.
Reference(s)
- Isaacs, Ross A., et al. A Cadet's Guide to Sector 001, New York: Last Unicorn Games, 1999.