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Nov 9, 2017 · Dozens of spacecraft have launched to explore Venus, but not all have been successful. NASA's Mariner 2 was the first spacecraft to visit any planet beyond Earth when it flew past Venus on Dec. 14, 1962. NASA is planning two new missions to Venus: VERITAS, and DAVINCI.
- Why Are Venus and Earth So Different?
- Did Venus Once Have Oceans?
- Did Venus Have continents?
- Is Venus Still Volcanically active?
- Is There Phosphine on Venus?
- Is There ‘Snow’ on Venus?
One of the major questions about Venus is why, despite being a similar size to Earth and a similar distance from the Sun, is it a hellish localewith a poisonous atmosphere composed mostly of carbon dioxide and surface temperatures that are hot enough to melt lead, rather than a pleasant oasis for life. “Why is Venus, our sibling planet, not our twi...
Working out whether Venus ever had bodies of liquid water on its surface is crucial to understanding why Venus and Earth are different. Astronomers can see hints of past waterin the planet’s atmosphere, but it’s unclear whether this water comes from ancient oceans on the surface that were lost as the planet warmed, or whether water existed only as ...
About 7% of Venus is covered in highland regionsknown as tesserae, plateaus that rise above the surrounding surface. These “might be the equivalent of continents on Earth”, says Byrne. To find out, VERITAS will study the composition of the tesserae, including comparing their content of the volcanic rock basalt with regions at lower elevation. “On E...
Earlier probes have shown that volcanoes are present on Venus, but it’s unclear whether any have been geologically active in the past few thousand years — or whether they are still active today. Both VERITAS and EnVision will help to answer this question by mapping the surface. EnVision’s high-resolution images in particular are expected to reveal ...
Last year, scientists announced that they had detected phosphine — a compound of phosphorus and a possible signature of life — on Venus. How this would have been produced was unclear, but there was a tantalizing possibility that it could have been made by microbial life in the atmosphere. The result has since been called into question, and the pres...
The planet’s mountaintops above 2.6 kilometres look strangely reflective, like those on Earth do, “where you have snow and frost deposited above a certain altitude”, says Wilson. But Venus is much too hot for water to exist, leading scientists to wonder whether the reflective regions might be something else. One possibility is a substance called se...
- Jonathan O'Callaghan
- 2021
Jun 8, 2021 · The spacecraft will then release its spherical probe that will plummet into Venus’ atmosphere for one hour, to measure noble gases and other elements, temperature and pressure.
Jun 2, 2021 · Despite the best efforts of scientists eager to study Earth’s sister world, U.S. efforts to send a dedicated spacecraft to Venus languished—until NASA made a surprising announcement.
Jun 4, 2021 · While VERITAS will send an orbiter to map the planet in more detail than ever before, DAVINCI+ will drop a probe through the planet's thick clouds to explore its atmosphere before landing on the ...
- Genelle Weule
Jun 11, 2021 · The European mission, called EnVision, will orbit Venus and probe the surface with radar, looking for signs of volcanic activity both past and present. Volcanoes are believed to be the source...
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Jun 2, 2021 · The two space probes will study Venus, a scorching hot world that may have once been like Earth. NASA chose the Venus missions over other candidates, such as trips to the moons of Jupiter and...
