safest planet besides earth

 

What is by far the safest planet besides Earth?

Venus; specifically, a location within her atmosphere roughly 55km (34mi) above the hellish surface; the pressures, temperatures, radiation levels, and gravity are all Earthlike at this altitude: 27 °C (80 °F) at 0.5 bars (50 kPa) with radiation similar to “northern Canada” and 91% Earth gravity. The skies of Venus are the only place in the entire solar system besides Earth where a human being could venture outside without a space suit; a simple face mask would provide breathing air. Additionally, the proximity of Venus to Earth makes for a much shorter trip than a Mars mission, and her Earthlike gravity poses no health complications.

 

In the 1980s, the Soviet Union explored the Venusian atmosphere with balloon probes. And now NASA has released a proposal for floating bases, illustrated below. Since the atmosphere is mostly heavy carbon dioxide, plants would flourish, parachutes would effectively slow entering spacecraft, and ordinary breathing air could serve as a buoyant fill-gas for the balloons. Also, solar panels would be almost 50% more effective than on Earth.