@article{4c0121d0a9e04e18ae0408e25879392c,
title = "Long duration flights in Venus{\textquoteright} atmosphere using passive solar hot air balloons",
abstract = "Solar balloons are a promising platform for providing multi-hour flights in and above the upper cloud layer of Venus. The temperature and pressure profiles from 55–75 km above the surface of Venus are very similar to Earth's from sea level to approximately 30 km, the site of numerous terrestrial solar balloon missions. Additionally, Venus{\textquoteright} highly reflective cloud layer can provide a higher intensity of reflected solar radiation. An ideal solar balloon envelope incorporates a lightweight material that has a high absorbtivity in the visual spectrum, and a low emissivity in the infrared spectrum. The envelope then absorbs direct, reflected, and diffuse radiation, as well as infrared radiation, and heats up the internal balloon air through conduction, resulting in passive flight without the need for an external heat source or lifting gas. This work builds on previous high altitude and solar balloon models and adapts them for Venus{\textquoteright} atmosphere to explore their expected payload mass capacity and flight times. The possible equilibrium float altitudes for various system masses and solar zenith angles are compared between Earth and Venus. Finally, an Earth simulation is compared to terrestrial solar balloon mission data to validate the model and further demonstrate the feasibility of solar balloon flight on Venus.",
keywords = "Cloud layer, Solar balloon, Venus",
author = "Schuler, {Tristan K.} and Bowman, {Daniel C.} and Izraelevitz, {Jacob S.} and Donald Sofge and Jekan Thangavelautham",
note = "Funding Information: The authors would like to thank David Crisp for providing flux profiles for Venus{\textquoteright} atmosphere using the LiFE approach. We would also like to acknowledge the support of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory{\textquoteright}s Karles Research Fellowship , which supported the lead author of this effort. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy{\textquoteright}s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525. The research provided by Jacob Izraelevitz was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NM0018D0004). This paper describes objective technical results and analysis. Any subjective views or opinions that might be expressed in the paper do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Energy, or the United States Government. Funding Information: The authors would like to thank David Crisp for providing flux profiles for Venus? atmosphere using the LiFE approach. We would also like to acknowledge the support of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory's Karles Research Fellowship, which supported the lead author of this effort. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc. for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525. The research provided by Jacob Izraelevitz was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NM0018D0004). This paper describes objective technical results and analysis. Any subjective views or opinions that might be expressed in the paper do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Energy, or the United States Government. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021",
year = "2022",
month = feb,
doi = "10.1016/j.actaastro.2021.10.030",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "191",
pages = "160--168",
journal = "Acta Astronautica",
issn = "0094-5765",
publisher = "Elsevier Limited",
}