Guillermo Söhnlein, co-founder of OceanGate, the company responsible for the Titan submersible disaster that claimed five lives, now wants to send people to Venus, claiming "It is very doable."

Last year in June, OceanGate took five people, including the other co-founder, Stockton Rush, to the Titanic wreck site, resulting in an ocean explosion.

Söhnlein argued in a blog post that Venus is a safe place for humans to visit. He even claimed that humans can live on Venus despite its harsh conditions. He asserted that challenges like high carbon dioxide levels and sulfuric acid clouds "can be overcome with breathing apparatus and acid-resistant materials". 

OceanGate
Image Source: Wikipedia

The 58-year-old Söhnlein put up some weird suggestions stating humans could build a home in the Venusian atmosphere, roughly 50 km above its surface, where conditions are more Earth-like in contrast to the scorching surface temperature which is around 462 degrees Celsius.

"We could embark on our Venusian journey TODAY… and do it safely and cost-effectively," said the OceanGate co-founder. "The reality is that Venus is much closer to Earth and has a much more similar orbit, which makes it much more accessible than Mars (lower cost, more frequent flight windows, shorter transit times, higher safety, etc.)," he added.

He further argued that Venus is a better option than Mars. "Also, we don't have to worry about conducting successful landings on the planet's surface, which is one of the biggest challenges awaiting us on Mars."

His vision is to explore Venus before Mars as he believes it is a safer option to develop the capabilities needed for interplanetary travel.

"If anything, one could argue that sending humans to Venus before sending them to Mars might be a better way to safely develop the capabilities to create a Martian community," he added.

Experts believe that human life on Venus is nearly impossible, but Söhnlein remains determined about his vision. He considers sending people to Venus as "very doable" by 2050.

After departing from OpenGate, Söhnlein founded the Humans2Venus Foundation in January 2020. He has always been a strong advocate for his vision to explore Venus.

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