text: In paragraph 5 of "The Challenge of Exploring Venus," that NASA is coming up with some solutions to the hostile conditions of Venus that would allow scientist to float above the fray with a blimp-like vehicle hovering 30 or so miles above the roiling Venusian landscape. This would avoid unfriendly conditions by staying up and out of their way. Further in the story, in paragraph 7, it tells us how NASA is thinking back to the 1800s and 1940s when they had mechanical computers that made calculations by using gear and lever and do not require electronics at all. Although modern computers are enormously powerful, flexible and quick, they tend to be more delicate when it comes to extreme physical conditions. By comparison, systems that use mechanical parts can be made more resistant to pressure, heat, and other forces. By using these computers we would be able to calculate many things about Venus even though it has such a harsh climate.