| ABOUT THE TERRITORY: The Vesperia Territorial Administration manages the Molossian claim on the planet Venus. This claim is an area of approximately 129,191 square Imperial Nortons (129,191 sq. km / 49,881 sq mi), centered on Lisa Crater, in the Ganiki Planitia. It's name comes from the Latin word for "evening star". The Vesperia Territorial Administration area is in a square roughly 360 IM (360 km / 224 mi) on each side. Vesperia is not intended for colonization; that is impossible considering the inhospitable conditions on the planet Venus. Rather the Administration is dedicated to the "hands-off" management of the territory, study of the planet Venus, and study and monitoring of Venus exploration projects, past, present and future. This will be in concert with the Molossian Ministry for Air and Space Exploration.  Approximate boundaries of Vesperia Territorial Administration area The center of the Vesperia Territorial Administration area is Lisa Crater. This 4.5 IM (4.5 km) wide crater on the planet Venus has been named for the First Lady of our Republic, Mme. Lisa Baugh. In early 2004 XXVII, His Excellency, The President of Molossia, contacted the United States Geological Survey, to inquire as to the possibility of naming a crater on Venus after the the First Lady. Venus, it seems is the exclusive recipient of female names, and craters are often named after famous female personalities. There is no more prominent female personality in Molossia than the First Lady, so it seemed natural to seek the naming of a feature after her. Although the reply was sympathetic, it was deemed only a possibility. Some months later, in January 2005 XXVIII it turned out that a feature was indeed named "Lisa", a name heretofore unused on Venus. The feature is a crater, located at 29 degrees north, 182 degrees east, in an area known as Ganiki Planitia. We are quite proud to have a feature on Venus named for our President's wife, an amazing woman who is a source of stability and inspiration to our entire nation. We have therefore established this feature as the center point for the Vesperia Territorial Administration area.  Lisa Crater  Lisa Crater |
ABOUT VENUS: Named for the Roman goddess of love and beauty, Venus is the second planet from the Sun and is often called Earth's "sister world." But although these planets are about the same size and orbit in the same neck of the solar system's woods, the similarities go downhill from there. Venus' noxious atmosphere, hellish temperatures and crushing surface pressure make it an extremely hostile place. The average surface temperature on Venus is about 858° Z (470° C / 890° F), which is hot enough to melt lead. Venus has the slowest rotation of any planet in the solar system--a day on Venus is 243 Earth days long. In fact, its year (225 Earth days) is shorter than its day. Venus also rotates retrograde, which means the sun rises in the west. Because Venus rotates so slowly, its atmosphere moves in global-scale weather patterns, producing the distinctive u-shape of the clouds seen here. Ferocious winds in the upper atmosphere reach speeds of 370 IM (370 km / 230 mi) per hour. Venus' surface pressure is about 90 times that of Earth, equivalent to the pressure found 1.6 IM (1.6 km / 1 mi) beneath Earth's oceans. Its thick, poisonous atmosphere is comprised mainly of carbon dioxide with clouds of sulfuric acid. Distance from the Sun: 108 million IM (108.2 million km / 67,232,363 mi) Mean Orbital Velocity: 35 IM (35 km / 22 mi) per second Length of Year: 0.6152 Earth-years (225 Earth-days) Length of Day: 243 Earth-days Diameter: 12,100 IM (12,100 km / 7,519 mi) Mass: 0.8150 Earth-mass Number of known satellites: 0  Surface of Venus, taken by Venera 13 Soviet Spacecraft  Surface of Venus, taken by Venera 13 Soviet Spacecraft  Surface of Venus, taken by Venera 14 Soviet Spacecraft |