Rate the following essay on its writing, argument, and language skills:
The author of "The Challenge of Exploring Venus" pulls the reader in by making them curious about what the planet has to offer. The reader would think, after reading the first one and a half paragraphs, that humans need to do further research and consider the benefits. However, the author unintentionally goes against the arguemen and proceeds to list why this should not happen.

The beginning of the article shows the parallels between Earth and Venus. In paragraph one, the author says, "Venus is the closest planet to Earth in terms of density and size, and ocasionally the closest in distance too." This makes the reader believe the author makes a compelling argument. Then in the end, just like the beginning, the author circles back to a motivational and positive tone that is not necessarily seen throughout the rest of the article. This is because, in between, there are multiple paragraphs (one of the first containing information about failed spacecraft missions) full of reasons why traveling to Venus would prove dangerous and non-beneficial.

The author seems to list these reasons on and on until the reader seems to forget what the article is about. The benefits illustrated in previous paragaphs are gone and only the difficulties of traveling to Venus remain. The most prominent example is in paragraph 3, when the author states, "[Venus's] conditions are far more extreme than anything humans encounter on Earth..." The author then goes on to explain NASA's point of view and what they are doing to get more research on Venus.

NASA, as the article says, would like to send "scientists to float above the fray." Although the conditions are not as favorable, they seem to be the best option, however, the author tells the reader that there are more difficulties. They explain that the state of the planet makes it hard to see what is actually on the surface. This contradicts the little hope the reader may have that NASA can explore Venus well. Besides the many other ways they are trying to.

After the author lists the final few reasons why exploring Venus is still a viable option, and explaining new and old technological options, they seem to redeem themselves. By the end of the article, the reader gains a sort of fear of traveling to Venus. Instead of the author listing the benefits, like they appeared to want to do in the beginning, the challenges are unveiled, thus explaining why the article is titled, "The Challenge of Exploring Venus" and just why it may not, in fact, be a great idea after all.

Score: 5