James, I think that you should also consider that 2014 Mars comet flyby that is once in hundred million years event especially if it is going to hit the planet. Odd coincidence or is it just about pushing the Earth's space program ahead!
If you have not yet read this Landis paper, I would recommend to read it because we must become a multiplanetary species. *Colonization of Venus* (by Geoffrey A. Landis) ABSTRACT: *Although the surface of Venus is an extremely hostile environment, at about 50 kilometers above the surface the atmosphere of Venus is the most earthlike environment (other than Earth itself) in the solar system. It is proposed here that in the near term, human exploration of Venus could take place from aerostat vehicles in the atmosphere, and that in the long term, permanent settlements could be made in the form of cities designed to float at about fifty kilometer altitude in the atmosphere of Venus.* http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20030022668_2003025525.pdf —Jouni
