Just weeks after the CEO of OceanGate, along with four others, died in the explosion of the Titan submarine, the company’s co-founder wants to send another group of people to an even more uninhabitable environment.
Guillermo Söhnlein, co-founder of OceanGate, stated in an interview that he wants to send 1,000 people to a space colony floating in the atmosphere of Venus by 2050. Sometimes called the Planet of Hell, Venus is also known as Earth’s twin, as it has similar size and density. But Venus’ atmosphere is made up of high-velocity winds that create clouds of toxic levels of carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid. Söhnlein remains adamant in his interest, citing some research that suggests a small portion of Venus’ atmosphere might be habitable for a human colony.
In a statement, Söhnlein said, based on some research that a small portion of Venus’ atmosphere could be habitable for a human colony, calling Venus “habitable” is an exaggeration, noting that the temperatures and pressures in some parts of the planet are more like Earth’s.
Söhnlein left OceanGate in 2016 and has since founded Humans2Venus, a nonprofit with a name as absurd as its mission. The purpose of Humans2Venus; Exploring Venus as a potential long-term place for humanity and building the largest global community of Venus enthusiasts.
What happened on the Titan submarine?
OceanGate made headlines around the world last June after five passengers, including the company’s CEO, Stockton Rush, disappeared in the North Atlantic Ocean while descending on the Titanic wreck aboard the company’s own Titan submarine. After several days of search and rescue, it turned out that the passengers died soon after the submarine’s pressurized hull was damaged and exploded incredibly quickly as a result.
In the news following the tragedy, it was revealed that Rush and OceanGate were cutting costs, using cheap materials, and evading regulatory scrutiny in an effort to lower the price of travel in the harsh temperatures and pressures of the deep ocean.
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