Keeping you current  The Lame Reason NASA Gave Up on Sending
Astronauts to Venus in 1973  We had the technology, but not the
will  Venus, a great place to take a few laps in orbit. Photo:
NASA / JPL  In the mid-1960s America’s space program was swiftly
racing towards the Moon, a exotic land that would be conquered
before the decade was out. But in the years leading up to the
landing, NASA was already looking toward the future, asking: how
could they keep the amazing team that built the Apollo program
in place, and where could humans go next, given the technologies
on hand?  Writing for Ars Technica, Amy Shira Teitel lays out in
detail the plans devised to send astronauts to Venus, to Mars,
or to both planets on one epic voyage, using only the equipment
that put people on the Moon.  Following a launch during the
November 1973 window, the crew would reach Venus sometime around
March 3, 1974, and the planet would become their primary science
target. Using the telescope’s broad spectrum to look beyond
Venus’ thic