@article{dc0837d4d55343f1a191dd2157881d8f,
title = "Venus, the Planet: Introduction to the Evolution of Earth{\textquoteright}s Sister Planet",
abstract = "Venus is the planet in the Solar System most similar to Earth in terms of size and (probably) bulk composition. Until the mid-20th century, scientists thought that Venus was a verdant world—inspiring science-fictional stories of heroes battling megafauna in sprawling jungles. At the start of the Space Age, people learned that Venus actually has a hellish surface, baked by the greenhouse effect under a thick, CO2-rich atmosphere. In popular culture, Venus was demoted from a jungly playground to (at best) a metaphor for the redemptive potential of extreme adversity. However, whether Venus was much different in the past than it is today remains unknown. In this review, we show how now-popular models for the evolution of Venus mirror how the scientific understanding of modern Venus has changed over time. Billions of years ago, Venus could have had a clement surface with water oceans. Venus perhaps then underwent at least one dramatic transition in atmospheric, surface, and interior conditions before present day. This review kicks off a topical collection about all aspects of Venus{\textquoteright}s evolution and how understanding Venus can teach us about other planets, including exoplanets. Here we provide the general background and motivation required to delve into the other manuscripts in this collection. Finally, we discuss how our ignorance about the evolution of Venus motivated the prioritization of new spacecraft missions that will rediscover Earth{\textquoteright}s nearest planetary neighbor—beginning a new age of Venus exploration.",
keywords = "Planetary climates, Planetary probes, Planetary structure, Planetary system formation, Planetary dynamics, Venus",
author = "O{\textquoteright}Rourke, {Joseph G.} and Wilson, {Colin F.} and Borrelli, {Madison E.} and Byrne, {Paul K.} and Caroline Dumoulin and Richard Ghail and G{\"u}lcher, {Anna J.P.} and Jacobson, {Seth A.} and Oleg Korablev and Tilman Spohn and Way, {M. J.} and Matt Weller and Frances Westall",
note = "Funding Information: JGO thanks the participants in the “Venus In Situ Sample Capture Mission” workshop organized by the W.M. Keck Institute for Space Studies, especially John Elliott and Francois Tissot, for sci-fi recommendations. Thanks also to all the participants of the “Venus: Evolution through Time” workshop and project through the International Space Science Institute for countless fruitful discussions. M.J.W. acknowledges support from the GSFC Sellers Exoplanet Environments Collaboration (SEEC) and ROCKE-3D: The evolution of solar system worlds through time, funded by the NASA Planetary and Earth Science Divisions Internal Scientist Funding Model. Thanks finally to two anonymous reviewers for providing helpful feedback. Funding Information: JGO thanks the participants in the “Venus In Situ Sample Capture Mission” workshop organized by the W.M. Keck Institute for Space Studies, especially John Elliott and Francois Tissot, for sci-fi recommendations. Thanks also to all the participants of the “Venus: Evolution through Time” workshop and project through the International Space Science Institute for countless fruitful discussions. M.J.W. acknowledges support from the GSFC Sellers Exoplanet Environments Collaboration (SEEC) and ROCKE-3D: The evolution of solar system worlds through time, funded by the NASA Planetary and Earth Science Divisions Internal Scientist Funding Model. Thanks finally to two anonymous reviewers for providing helpful feedback. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023, The Author(s).",
year = "2023",
month = feb,
doi = "10.1007/s11214-023-00956-0",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "219",
journal = "Space Science Reviews",
issn = "0038-6308",
publisher = "Springer Netherlands",
number = "1",
}