text: Within "The Challenge of Exploring Venus" the author at one point takes great focus on how similar Earth is to Venus. "Venus is the closest plant to Earth in terms of density and size, and occasionally the closest in distance too." The reason as to why the author included this information, is to clarify how scientific research accumulated from Venus can be valueable to our earthly knowledge. For example from a geological standpoint, studying the rocks of Venus could give insight on how long Earth will be habitable, and what awaits at the end. The author gives us an example on a possible way on researching Venus within its' confines. "Imagine a blimp-like vehicle hovering 30 or so miles above the Venusian landscape." The fact the author goes as far as to reference ideas on how researchers can explore Venus, very well illustrates the author's fondness of the idea. However, there is some evidence to support that the author is not completely on board with some things regarding the exploration of Venus. "However, peering at Venus from a ship orbiting or hovering safely far above the planet can provide only limited insight on ground conditions because most forms of light cannot penetrate the dense atmosphere..." In this example, specifically the idea of a research "blimp" clearly doesn't quite satisfy the author.