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As to the Venus mission on which Lavochkin is working, Khartov said, "the Venera-D spacecraft will be launched after 2020". A Proton-M launch vehicle will propel the spacecraft to the skies.
Temperatures are high, approximately 500 degrees Celsius, on the surface of Venus, which means "the spacecraft will have to withstand the planetary surface conditions for about 24 hours," he said.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venera-D
Last edited by SpaceNut (2014-01-28 21:02:55)
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Larger space probes can stay on the surface for longer and absorb more heat before getting fried.
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There has been some work on high temperature electronics. This web page lists some automotive electronics.
Cylinder pressure: 200 to 300°C
Engine and transmission: 150 to 200°C
On wheel sensors: 150 to 250°C
Exhaust sensors: upto 850°C, ambient 300°C
The same web page says silicon carbide (SiC) electronics have been operated in the laborator up to 600°C. Why not just make all electronics for a Venus probe from this stuff?
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The higher the temperature at which the operate, the less power that will be required to cool them. All of the Venus landers thus far relied on heat sinks and insulation to keep them cool. One thing is I feel we shouldn't be leaving the planet Venus all to the Russians as far as landers are concerned. I wonder what sort of american flag we could plant in Venusian soil without it melting, any ideas in that regard? Some high temperature fabric would be required. I image a flag would flap very slowly in the sluggish Venusian wind/currents.
A sample return mission would be even more challenging. Basically two mother ships would be required, one floating by areostat high in the atmosphere and the other waiting it orbit to return to Earth. Something about the size of a Pegasus Launcher might suffice for returning small amounts of Venusian soil to the orbital mothership. Some high temperature balloon would be required to life off the Venusian surface once again, and some means of rendezvous with the floating return ship would be required, maybe an airplane of helicopter of some kind.
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Not sure I should pander to a "flags" mission, but my first thought is asbestos. You could also make it out of fibreglass. Silica fibre can do it as well, but that would be over-kill. Normal fibreglass is cheaper, and would definitely suffice.
Rather than an aircraft, you could deploy a blimp. I don't know any polymer film that could withstand that much heat, but a metalized fibreglass cloth could. Pure aluminum would melt, but aluminum bronze alloy melts between 600-655°C, depending on exact alloy. The reason for a blimp is so it can "drive" over to your aerostat.
Speaking of Russian technology, their spy agency developed a "bug" that could be incorporated into molten steel. They use it to embed listening devices in the steel beams of the American embassy in Russia. When American officials found the bugs, they found some embedded in drywall, some in ceilings, some in the beams. There were so many devices that they couldn't effectively remove them. So they poured a heavy concrete floor on top of the building, and built another story on that. Any sensitive conversations were to be held on that secure floor. The media had a hay-day when they found out about this. But the point is Russians know how to embed electronics in a steel beam, America didn't know how to do that at the time. Have American military/spy contractors figured out how to do it since? Could this help develop high temperature electronics for Venus?
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