The US space agency Nasa announced on Wednesday that it plans to send two unmanned spacecraft to Venus between 2028 and 2030. The goal is to study the atmosphere and geological features on the Earth’s so-called sister planet.
– The goal of these sister missions is to understand how Venus became such an inferno-like world where lead can melt on the surface, Nelson says.
The assignments have been named “DaVinci +” and “Veritas”.
“DaVinci +” will analyze the thick and cloudy atmosphere to find out if there was ever ocean on the surface and if Venus has ever been habitable. A small vessel should be sent into the atmosphere to measure gas levels.
“Veritas” will investigate the planet’s geology and map the rocky surface.
Nasa chief Bill Nelson on Wednesday announced plans for the two unmanned spacecraft to Venus.
Foto: Bill Ingalls / AP
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Know little about the planet Venus
Venus is our closest planet, and has been overlooked for decades while other parts of the solar system have been explored.
The planned projects will be the first trips to Venus’ atmosphere since 1978.
Venus is slightly smaller than Earth, but much warmer. There should be a thick atmosphere that consists mainly of carbon dioxide, with clouds of sulfuric acid droplets, writes Reuters.
“It is striking how little we know about Venus, but these missions will give us new knowledge about the planet’s atmosphere, which mostly consists of carbon dioxide,” says Nasa researcher Tom Wagner.
NASA’s development program
Each mission is supported by around $ 500 million from NASA’s development program. They outperformed two other possible projects that would explore Jupiter’s moon Io and Neptune’s frozen moon Triton.
The United States and the Soviet Union sent several spacecraft to Venus in the early years of space travel. The first successful flight past the planet was made by the United States in 1962, while the Soviet Union landed on the planet in 1970.
In 1989, Nasa launched a spacecraft orbiting Venus, while the European Space Agency (ESA) did the same in 2006.
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