National Geographic Traveller India – July 2019

PLACES WE LOVE

CAPPADOCIA

2. IN THE AIR
   If humans ever make it
   to Venus, they will likely
   have trouble landing
   on its volcanic surface,
   shrouded in clouds
   that rain sulphuric acid
   and bake the crust to
   some 471° Celsius.
   Instead, visitors might
   one day float above the
   ground in the solar-
   powered cloud cities
   NASA has envisioned
   for the hypothetical
   High Altitude Venus
   Operational Concept
   (HAVOC) mission. At

that higher altitude,

temperatures and other

conditions would be

less hostile. For the

sensation of a vacation

to Venus, head to

Cappadocia, Turkey,

where the alien-looking

landscape of fantastical

rock formations is best

seen from above, on a

hot-air balloon tour. In

New Mexico, check out

the mass ascension

at the Albuquerque

International Balloon

Fiesta, where more than

500 colourful flyers

launch in a rapid-fire

spectacle. This premier

ballooning event lasts for

nine days in October.

EXPLORE MORE

Space Center Houston

Houston, Texas

Tour the NASA Mission

Control Center that

monitored the moon

landing, and in this

summer’s “Journey

to Space” exhibit,

enter a replica of the

International Space

Station. spacecenter.org

THE ITINERARY U.S.A.

38 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA | JULY 2019