NASA is planning two new missions to neighboring planet Venus. ‘DaVinci+’ and ‘Veritas’ will depart from Earth between 2028 and 2030 to ‘rediscover’ the second planet from the sun.
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NASA is allocating about $500 million for each mission, it said on Wednesday. Among other things, the space agency wants to understand how Venus has become “an inferno-like world” while the planet has “so many similar characteristics to ours”.
‘DaVinci+’ aims to investigate the composition of Venus’ atmosphere and to create high-resolution images of ‘unique geological features’. It will be the first American mission to Venus’ atmosphere since 1978. With ‘Veritas’ NASA wants to map the surface of the planet in particular.
“We are reviving our planetary science program with an intense exploration of a world that NASA has not visited in more than 30 years,” said NASA’s Thomas Zurbuchen. He talks about “a new decade for Venus to understand how an Earth-like planet can become a greenhouse.”
– Photo: via REUTERS
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