TPO 40 Integrated Task

In this given set of materials, the main topic is centered on challenges humans face if they were to establish a permanent presence on Venus. While the writer holds the idea that conditions on Venus make it impossible to do so, the professor believes that although it may be challenging, but, it is certainly possible to live on Venus for humans.

To begin with, first challenge as cited in the passage is that due to the high atmospheric pressure at Venus, almost anything humans might land on Venus would be destroyed. However, the professor disagrees by suggesting that instead of building a presence on surface, they build a presence above it as a balloon floating in the air. In this sense, because the pressure and altitude have an inverse relationship between them, they can avoid such high pressures in high altitudes in Venus atmosphere.

Second, the writer mentions the atmosphere at Venus contains any oxygen or water vapor, which are critical for survival. Yet again, the professor casts doubt on this challenge by stating the fact the atmosphere there contains compound chemical resources like nitrogen, carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid, which can be used to produce oxygen or water. Therefore, there is no need to import oxygen or water from earth.

Last but not least, the professor refutes the third challenge mentioned by the writer in the passage, slight amount of sunlight reaches the planet's surface due to layers of thick clouds and a layer of carbon dioxide below them, by pointing out that these clouds are not that thick in high altitudes and sunlight can go through them easily. Moreover, not only can humans generate electricity by using direct sunlight, but they can also use reflected sunlight. Hence, this challenge seems to be solvable as well as the other two challenges mentioned earlier.