At such an altitude, the pressure would be the same as Earth's at sea level and the temperature would be a still scorching, but manageable 165 degrees F. What's more, radiation levels would be much less than those on Mars -- about the same as Canada gets. The travel length would also be much shorter, solar power would be plentiful, the atmosphere is extremely buoyant for blimps and there would be an option to abort the mission early and return home.

After a risky arrival, where the goal is most definitely to not land, astronauts would be able stay for 30 days in 400-foot blimps powered by 10,000 square feet of solar panels. Venus remains one of the least studied planets in our solar system, so scientists could learn about the planet's runaway greenhouse effect and study its highly acidic atmosphere. The airships could also bring robotic landers to study the soil and other factors on the surface.

So far, there's no plan to turn the study into an actual manned mission, particularly since NASA is focused strictly on Mars. But the space agency's Dale Arney said "given that Venus' upper atmosphere is a fairly hospitable destination, we think it's... probably no worse than the second planet you might go to behind Mars."