If you are talking about landing there, then yes. But we have had a fair bit of study from orbit. NASA’s Magellan orbiter particularly did detailed mapping from orbit in the 1990s. So a bit more recent than the 1970s. We know a lot more about it as a result.

Gula Mons - one of the Magellan images of Venus - 3D stereo so can be tilted in software to see from any angle.

And Japan has a new satellite in orbit around Venus right now, studying its atmosphere.

Akatsuki

It’s really hard to land on the surface - actually landing is easy but surviving once there is hard because of the extremes of temperature and pressure and the sulfuric acid.

But the clouds are another matter. The cloud tops are in many ways the most habitable place in the solar system outside of Earth - if we had a reason to be there. The pressure and temperature are the same as for the Earth’s surface. It’s above the clouds so plenty of sunlight. You can use just a thin envelope to hold in the breathable atmosphere as pressures would be the same inside and out. Protection against the sulfuric acid isn’t that hard; you can use Teflon for instance. You wouldn’t need spacesuits, just acid resistant suits, far less expensive. The atmosphere also has just about all the ingredients for life. In principle you could grow plastics and trees from the atmosphere. People often say at this point “but what if you fall to the ground?” - but you’d be tethered of course if out of doors - and death is far more immediate and sudden from a spacesuit depressurizing.

Russian idea for a cloud colony in the upper atmosphere of Venus, proposed in 1970s
 original article (in Russian) - and forum discussion of the article - includes rough translation (I think anyway), probably by non native English speaker.

This illustration is from Aerostatical Manned Platforms in the Venus atmosphere - Technica Molodezhi TM - 9 1971

See my Will We Build Colonies That Float Over Venus Like Buckminster Fuller's "Cloud Nine"?

LIFE IN THE CLOUDS OF VENUS

There could even be life in the Venus clouds, probably microbial.

The idea here is that Venus started off Earth like in the early solar system. But at some point it dried up, lost its ocean due to a runaway greenhouse effect, which didn't affect Earth in the same way because continental drift on Earth continually buries and circulates the carbonates. Though the surface of Venus is amazingly inhospitable, the layer at the top of its clouds is in many cases the most habitable location in our solar system after Earth - almost Earth like in temperature, pressure, and atmospheric composition (without the oxygen of course). It has one major drawback, droplets of concentrated sulfuric acid.

However we do have acidophiles on Earth that survive in conditions not far off the acidity of Venus clouds - in sulfuric acid outflows from mines on Earth. The UV light at the cloud tops could be hazardous also, but the life in the Venus clouds could be protected by pigments or by an external layer of solid sulfur (the allotrope S8). So - it's possible that there is sulfuric acid tolerant life in the Venus clouds. The other main problem with the high Venus clouds is that there are no solid surfaces of course. But it could have evolved in the early solar system and then migrated to the clouds as the surface got drier and hotter.

The main question is, could the life find some way to stay aloft? The residence time of particles is months rather than days - so - that makes it easier, and turbulence could return some of the life to the tops of the habitable layer after it reproduces - but it's still quite a challenge.The surface of Venus is totally hostile to Earth life, a dim, hot furnace, with temperatures well over 400°C. But conditions are different at the Venus cloud tops. Temperatures are ideal, with plenty of light. There are several factors that suggest life may be possible there:

• The atmosphere is not in chemical equilibrium, with H2S and SO2 present together, also oxygen and hydrogen, which life could use as a source of energy.
• Detection of carbonyl sulphide (OCS) - a clear sign of life here on Earth (though it could be created inorganically on Venus, by volcanoes), and the levels of H2S are also higher in the upper atmosphere, a surprising result which might mean it is produced by some process in the upper atmosphere rather than from volcanoes, possibly by life.
• Doesn't have the expected concentrations of carbon monoxide. That could be a sign that life is using the CO for its metabolism. On Earth, 450 strains of photosynthetic bacteria rely on carbon monoxide for their carbon. Schulze-Makuch suggests that they could be combining carbon monoxide with sulfur dioxide and possibly hydrogen. The anoxic acidic environments in the Venus clouds are similar to those in the hydrothermal vents in some ways. See Venusian Cloud Colonies - Astrobiology Magazine
• Atmosphere super rotates giving a day night cycle of a total of 4 days making photosynthetic life easier because the night is shorter than the 117 day cycle on the planetary surface
• Continuous presence of thick clouds more stable than those of Earth, with water present in the form of sulfuric acid in the clouds - this is the region of the Venus atmosphere with most water present.
• It takes more than 200 days for a 1.1 micron particle to fall out of the clouds , which is more than enough time for several generations even of rather slow growing microbes, to reproduce and form spores ( page 10 of Charles Cockell's Life on Venus. ) ,
• Most of the ingredients of life are easily accessible in the atmosphere. Five of the six main elements life needs, hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen and sulfur are present in large quantities . The main limitation on life similar to Earth life may be the requirement for phosphorus which is present in trace quantities. Chlorine is present in low quantities. Calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium and iron are not yet detected though they are likely be present in the form of dust since surface rocks include MnO, MgO, CaO, Na2O,K2O,FeO, TiO2and SiO2 - See Geoffrey Landis's Astrobiology: The Case for Venus and page 10 of Charles Cockell's Life on Venus.
• Detection of particles which are non spherical like microbes and the right size for them. This was a rather surprising discovery, as there is no obvious vapour source that would condense as particles of this size and shape. Some scientists have suggested that these large particles may be a result of miscalibration of the equipment, with the conclusion: , "This allows a simple understanding of the source of all the cloud particles, but at the cost of disbelieving some of the measurements.". .However others say that there is good evidence that the equipment was operating under nearly optimal health conditions. This is the "Mode 3 particle controversy", for details of the controversy see section 4.2 of this paper.
• Detection of dark streaks in the atmosphere of unknown composition which absorb UV. The absorption spectrum is broad without distinct peaks which suggests it is due to particles or droplets rather than gas, Could this be due to absorption of the UV by life either to protect itself or for photosynthesis or both?

Of those, the three main lines of evidence which just possibly could indicate the presence of life are the UV absorption (possible photosynthesis or UV protection), the chemical disequilibrium, especially the presence of OCS, and the possible presence of large non spherical particles. All of these could also be due to non life processes but are not easy to explain in that way.

For more on this:

• Venusian cloud colonies (NASA astrobiology magazine),
• Astrobiology: The Case for Venus
• Life on Venus
• Could dark streaks in Venus' clouds be microbial life
• Could there be life in the clouds of Venus?
• Acidic clouds of Venus could harbour life

If we do find life there, it probably didn't originate in the cloud tops. Instead, it's probably a relict of surface life in the early solar system, which migrated to its upper atmosphere as the conditions became harsher. (See also section on Venusian clouds in "Cosmic Biology - How Life could Evolve on Other Worlds").

Artist impressions of Venusian clouds, credit ESA. The surface of Venus is utterly hostile to Earth like life, at temperatures of well over 400°C is. It is also dim, not much light filters through the clouds. But high in the atmosphere above the cloud tops, then conditions are far more conducive to life, at temperatures around 0°C. The cloud droplets themselves are the main challenge, concentrated sulfuric acid, with acidity similar to battery acid. There are intriguing signs that just might indicate life, in the upper atmosphere though they can also have other interpretations.

Venus probably started off similar to Earth. It's surface actually gets less light than the Earth, because though closer to the sun, it has highly reflective clouds. It is so hot, not so much because it is closer to the sun, but because of a runaway greenhouse effect. Earth has similar amounts of carbon dioxide locked up in limestone, and could look the same in the future as the sun heats up further. Most scientists think that Venus was a near twin of Earth in the early solar system, with oceans like Earth. We don't have quite the same confidence about this that we have for Mars because its entire surface was resurfaced a few hundred million years ago which would erase any clear signs of the ancient oceans such as the deltas and shore lines of Mars. But there are still hints that suggest it did have them.

Evidence for early oceans on Venus is indirect.

This is a temperature map of Venus. Observations from orbit are consistent with the idea that Venus had earlier oceans, with suggestions that it might have granite land masses. If so these may be the remains of ancient continents

"The eight Russian landers of the 1970s and 1980s touched down away from the highlands and found only basalt-like rock beneath their landing pads. The new map shows that the rocks on the Phoebe and Alpha Regio plateaus are lighter in color and look old compared to the majority of the planet. On Earth, such light-colored rocks are usually granite and form continents.

"Granite is formed when ancient rocks, made of basalt, are driven down into the planet by shifting continents, a process known as plate tectonics. The water combines with the basalt to form granite and the mixture is reborn through volcanic eruptions. If there is granite on Venus, there must have been an ocean and plate tectonics in the past," Nils Muller said.
See Oceans on Ancient Venus - Study suggests (space.com)

This life could also survive in high pressure subsurface habitats with supercritical liquid water.

If Venus did have oceans in the early solar system, life could have evolved independently from Earth. Or, it's possible that Venus was seeded by life from Mars or Earth, billions of years ago. Or the other way around, it could have seeded Earth or Mars, or both. If so then this is a really exciting possibility for biology. We may make amazing discoveries from studying life that's been isolated from Earth for billions of years, or possibly evolved independently.

Venus (left) may have had oceans like Earth (right) in the early solar system, and life could have evolved there, or been seeded by Mars or Earth. If so it might still exist in the clouds.

However this may also have planetary protection implications. Some time back, in 2006, an international team of scientists for COSPAR (Committee on Space Research) examined the situation for Venus, in "Assessment of Planetary Protection for Venus Missions" (you might find that the easiest way to read this report online is to get free membership of NAP and then use the download button and read it as a pdf). They came to the conclusion that even in the Venusian cloud tops, conditions are so different from Earth conditions that there is no need for planetary protection. As a result of this report, Venus is currently classified as Category II, and sample return as unrestricted Category V. This means that you simply need to document whatever it is you do. (For the current planetary protection categories, and policies, see Planetary Protection (Wikipedia) )

This also means that you can return a sample of the Venus atmosphere to Earth for study, with no need to contain it or act in any way to protect the Earth environment. The only requirement is that you have to keep detailed documentation of whatever you do. However, there was a dissenting voice at the time, by Dirk Schulze-Makuch who was not part of the team. See Planetary Protection Study Group Mulls Life On Venus

Everyone seems agreed that there are no planetary protection issues for the Venus surface, with temperatures well over 400C. But should the Venus atmosphere perhaps be re-categorized as category III, meaning that you have to sterilize spacecrafts that visit it? Should sample return from Venus be re-categorized as restricted Category V, meaning that you have to take precautions to protect Earth in event of a sample return?.

Some of the material here comes from my article If there is Life in Venus Cloud Tops - Do we Need to Protect Earth - or Venus - Could Returned XNA mean Goodbye DNA for Instance?

We may get this in situ search soon. Some scientists working on designs for the next Russian mission to Venus, Venera D which hopefully will launch some time in the 2020s. Provisionally 2026. The original plan was for a balloon (as well as a lander and orbiter). They want to include ideas from the Northrup group VAMP project for an unmanned aerial vehicle for Venus. This would actually deploy outside of the Venus atmosphere and do a hypersonic entry. Because it is so large and light, it decelerates very high in the Venus atmosphere, and so does not need an aeroshell as it decelerates more slowly and the skin is not raised to a high temperature

It inflates before it enters the atmosphere (see Patent). Because it is so low in density (low ballistic coefficient), it decelerates slowly in the very thin upper atmosphere, so generating much less heat. So it doesn't need an aeroshell, though, its outer envelope is reinforced to withstand up to 1200 C along leading edges

They hope it can be used for Venus, and also Titan, possibly Mars.

Eventually we can send humans to the clouds. The HAVOC idea is to do this. Their airship expands after it enters the Venus atmosphere, but the rest of the design is very similar. This is a video showing how it would work.

However I think we should do in situ searches first before sending humans there just in case.

So anyway the Venera-D is going to study the clouds, possibly with an inflatable airship like VAMP - and it’s also going to have an orbiter, and it should have a lander too designed to survive a long time on the surface, and a more powerful radar. So that will be our next return to Venus. There is a lot of scientific interest in Venus.

We could also find out about Venus from the Moon once we have bases on the lunar poles, because Venus must have sent meteorites to the Moon in the early solar system. It must have sent them to Earth too but with all the alteration over the last billions of years not likely we find them. But on the Moon they may sit unchanged in the ice at the lunar poles. Would be especially exciting if it turns out that early Venus had life, and we find evidence of that in organics in meteorites from Venus on the Moon. We can’t get meteorites from Venus right now because its atmosphere is so thick that the largest asteroids that could hit it nowadays, a little over 10 km in diameter, could never send ejecta with escape velocity up through its thick atmosphere. But in the early solar system it would have had much more massive impactors and probably also had a much thinner atmosphere too. So it would be no great surprise to find Venus meteorites on the Moon. See section 3.1.1 of this paper

I think it is fair to say that there has been much more attention on Mars than on Venus. Also much more attention on Mars than on the Moon. Still even Mars only has two landers at present still active, on a planet with a surface area the size of the entire land area of the Earth - each able to travel only a few kilometers per year because of the very slow turn around time, communications for a short window of a few minutes once a day - will make a huge difference once we have broadband communications. So when you say Mars is better explored than Venus, it is true, but we are only just scratching the surface on Mars too, especially for robots on the surface. And as for the Moon, the Chinese lander was the first return to the surface since the days of Apollo though that does now seem set to change.

This consists mainly of an extract from my Life in clouds of Venus section in my new online and kindle book:

If Humans Touch Mars - Like the Lascaux Story - Another Tale of Human Missteps?