Why Not Venus?
Venus, Not Mars, First
by Ralph Buttigieg
People have been debating whether the next goal for human space exploration should be a return to the Moon or an expedition to Mars for decades. In more recent times there has been serious consideration of another destination, the Near Earth Asteroids. In my view we are forgetting another alternative: Venus.
http://discoveryenterprise.blogspot.com/2009/04/venus-not-mars-first.html