Venus is way closer than Mars (on average), but we don't explore it as much because it's such a challenge to come up with a probe that could survive on it. I guess we should try harder.
I think if you do the math, on average, Mercury is the closest planet to any other planet in the solar system.
Here's a picture of the surface of Venus from a Soviet probe in the early 80s. That's about all we've got. We have better pictures of the surface of Titan, for pete's sake.
I mean, Venus is this whole rocky planet about the size of Earth right next door, and for the most part we ignore it -- exploration-wise.
I mean, Venus is pretty boring to look at. But on the surface, there's volcanoes and probably tons of other cool stuff. Send some robots! Pass this on to a well-funded Musk or another interested party.
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