text: The other main point that the author provides is that Venus is, at times, the planet closest to Earth. The author goes so far as to say the planet "is right around the corner" in terms of space. Since space travel already has an impossibly long time frame, this is a crucial piece of information. Humans will not stop exploring outside the Earth, and that journey is sure to be difficult no matter what, but going to Venus might make the trip at least a little bit shorter, and therefore simpler. The reason for this particuar argument is that it makes the reader feel that going to Venus is much more reasonable than anywhere else.