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NASA is crowdsourcing a sensor that can survive Venus
Venus is hostile to just about everything, including probes -- and while NASA thinks it has Venus-resistant electronics, that doesn't mean future rovers are ready to touch down on the planet's hellish surface. To that end, NASA wants your help. It's teaming with HeroX on a crowdsourced competition to develop an obstacle avoidance sensor that could survive on the Venus-bound AREE explorer. A total of $30,000 in prizes will go to the top three sensors that can navigate rough terrain while withstanding the extreme temperatures (over 800F) and pressure (92 times that of Earth) of the planet.
NASA goes Steampunk for its future Venus probes
NASA knows better than any of us that what seems normal today was once science fiction. So, it isn't afraid to bet some cash on some fanciful space projects via the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) symposium. This year, the agency looked at projects it calls "little more than ideas," including a Venus probe inspired by famed Dutch artist Theo Jansen, the creator of wind-powered "Strandbeests."
