NASA’s New Venus Missions

What is the News? NASA has announced two new Venus Missions. It will examine the planet’s atmosphere and geological features.

NASA is awarding approximately $500 million permission for development. The missions will be launched between 2028 and 2030.

Which are those two new Venus Missions? 

Davinci+ Venus Mission:

• Davinci+ stands for Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging.
• Aim: The mission will measure the planet’s atmosphere to gain insight into how it formed and evolved. It will also aim to determine whether Venus ever had an ocean and was possibly habitable.
• Significance: This would be the first U.S.-led mission to Venus’ atmosphere since 1978. The results from the mission could reshape our understanding of terrestrial planet formation in our solar system and beyond.

VERITAS Mission:

• VERITAS stands for Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy.
• Aim: The mission will map the planet’s surface to understand its geologic history and investigate how it developed so differently than Earth.
• The mission will use a form of radar to chart surface elevations and discover whether volcanoes and earthquakes are still happening.

Previous Venus Missions:

• The US and the former Soviet Union sent multiple spacecraft to Venus in the early days of space exploration.
• NASA’s Mariner 2 performed the first successful flyby to Venus in 1962.
• Then the Soviets’ Venera 7 made the first successful landing on Venus in 1970.
• In 1989, NASA used a space shuttle to send its Magellan spacecraft into orbit around Venus.
• In 2006, the European Space Agency put a spacecraft around Venus.

Note: Shukrayaan-1 is a proposed mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to Venus. It aims to study the surface and atmosphere of Venus. It is expected to be launched in 2023.

Source: Indian Express