Rate the following essay on its writing, argument, and language skills:
In the passage, "The Challenge of Exploring Venus," the author supports that studying Venus is a worthy pursuit despite the dangers it presents. The author starts with facts about Venus to just bring general facts the the public in the passage. The author does not support his idea in the passage well. The author points out more dangers than he points out the reasons that pursuing Venus is a benefit to the people on Earth. The author speaks of the history of Venus exploration, the atmosphere and geography on Venus, and the technology we need to get to Venus.

For decades the scientists at NASA have been trying to land a spacecraft on to Venus. "Because Venus is sometimes right around the corner- in space terms- humans have sent numerous spacecraft to land on this cloud-draped world." With Venus being Earth's "twin," in both density and in size causes the want to increase with the thought that it once was like Earth. "Long ago, Venus was probably covered largely with oceans and could have supported various forms of life, just like Earth." Every mission they sent to Venus was a spacecraft that was unmanned, as "no spacecraft survived the landing for more than a few hours." A spacecraft has not been sent up to Venus for more than three decades, leaving the question if we now have the technology and if we now have have the capability, or if we still do not. The author uses these facts showing that Venus is a dangerous place that people on Earth would think to not pursuit, arguing with the authors claim that we should.

The atmosphere and geography on Venus is another thing the author uses to have more people disagree with the pursuit of Venus. Scientists have not been able to take clear shots of the ground on Venus, leaving astronauts in the dark about the terrain on Venus. "Peering at Venus from a ship orbiting safely far from the plant can provide only limited insight on ground condition becuase most forms of light cannot penetrate the dense atmosphere." The atmosphere on Venus is unsafe for astronauts, as well as the pressure Venus presents. "A thick atmosphere of almost 97 percent carbon dioxide blankets Venus. Even more challenging are the clouds of highly corrosive sulfuric acid in Venus’s atmosphere." The planet's surface temperature and pressure is too high for a human to endure, even in a space suit. "On the planet’s surface, temperatures average over 800 degrees Fahrenheit, and the atmospheric pressure is 90 times greater than what we experience on our own planet." No human has ever encountered such harsh conditions before. With more deadly and terrifying facts the author presents, the less the chance of Venus exploration seems.

Over three decades ago we did not have the technology or materials to have a spacecraft manage to surivive in the extreme atmospheric conditions on the surface of Venus. "such an environment would crush even a submarine accustomed to diving to the deepest parts of our oceans and would liquefy many metals." The metals we use today for most objects is able to withstand some pressure, but with even the strongest submarine unable to withstand the pressure againts it's metals, the chance of exploration seems slimmer and slimmer. "Venusian geology and weather present additional impediments like erupting volcanoes, powerful earthquakes, and frequent lightning strikes to probes seeking to land on its surface." As of now the probes the scientists send the Venus are unable to survive due to the conditions mentioned earlier. "More importantly, researchers cannot take samples of rock, gas, or anything else, from a distance. Therefore, scientists seeking to conduct a thorough mission to understand Venus would need to get up close and personal despite the risks." The author recognizes the risk invloved with exploration, but turns it around so the reader and scientists look at them as challenges and not something that can ruin lives. However, NASA has created a simulation of the atmosphere on Venus and found simplified electronics "have lasted for three weeks." This hope gives the author some points on how Venus explorstion is possible, ignoring the many dangers presented in the passage.

The author gives very little points on why the exploration of space is possible and the reasons on why we should. The author points out that "Furthermore, recall that Venus can sometimes be our nearest option for a planetary visit, a crucial consideration given the long time frames of space travel." This quote from the text shows the only reason why we are looking at exploring Venus is because it is closer to us, which is not entirely true. With the path the planets follow we are sometimes closer to Mars than we are to Venus allowing the exploration of Mars over Venus. I believe the author persuades readers by not mentioning Mars most of the time and turns the passage to make it feel like we have to explore Venus, while having more dangers in the passage than having more possilbe things to consider while on the topic of exploring Venus.

Score: 5