Atmosphere of Venus
The atmosphere of Venus is the layer of gases surrounding Venus. It is composed primarily of carbon dioxide and is much denser and hotter than that of Earth. The temperature at the surface is 740 K (467 °C, 872 °F), and the pressure is 93 bar (9.3 MPa), roughly the pressure found underwater on Earth. The Venusian atmosphere supports opaque clouds made of sulfuric acid, making optical Earth-based and orbital observation of the surface impossible. Information about the topography has been obtained exclusively by radar imaging. Aside from carbon dioxide, the other main component is nitrogen. Other chemical compounds are present only in trace amounts.
Lori Glaze
Glaze was the Principal Investigator for a proposed NASA Discovery mission to Venus, Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging (DAVINCI). This mission would send a probe on a journey through Venus' atmosphere, descending over the planet's roughest and most geologically complex terrain. The DAVINCI probe would explore the planet's atmosphere from top to bottom, including the deep atmospheric layers largely hidden from Earth-based instruments and orbiting spacecraft. DAVINCI would be the first U.S. probe in nearly four decades to target Venus' atmosphere.