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Despite its harsh conditions—scorching heat and thick cloud cover—Venus has long attracted scientists seeking to unravel its history, learn about the mechanisms of evolution, and understand the current state of this planet.
Among the leading initiatives to shape an effective Venus exploration program for NASA is the Venus Exploration Analysis Group (VExAG), an open forum that brings together experts and the public to define a strategy to help unlock the mysteries of the second planet from the Sun.
At the VExAG meeting late last year, participants outlined a focused vision for Venus exploration for the next decade and beyond, discussing innovative technologies from aerostatic probes (balloons) to instruments for long-term surface operations. A key part of this strategy is to engage as many researchers as possible from around the world and demonstrate how unique Venus is and why we should focus on solving its mysteries.
What if life on Venus is just "guests" from Earth?
According to Isenberg, the VExAG representative, the group is committed to supporting and developing a clear plan for Venus exploration. “One of the key takeaways from our discussions is a strong desire to create technologies that will enable us to better study Venus and similar extreme environments on other planets,” he told Space.com. Despite the challenges, he said, this is an incredibly exciting time for scientists to explore Venus.
Indeed, a number of missions to Venus are currently being prepared, including a NASA orbiter called VERITAS (Venus Emissivity, Radio science, InSAR, Topography, And Spectroscopy).
Another NASA mission, DAVINCI (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging), is also in development. It involves a lander that will descend through the cloud layer of Venus directly to its surface.
In addition, the European Space Agency's Envision spacecraft is planned. This mission, carried out in partnership with NASA, will explore the planet from its core to the outer layers of the atmosphere. As part of the collaboration, NASA will provide the VenSAR synthetic aperture radar, which can "see" through dense clouds.
Penetrating beyond the mysterious
According to James Garvin, principal investigator for the DAVINCI mission and chief scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, new technologies are needed to “bring the lab to the samples.” That’s what DAVINCI plans to do, perhaps in the early 2030s, by plunging a spherical probe through the atmosphere to the surface of Venus with a suite of high-precision instruments.
Garvin is confident that the information collected by a series of future missions will shed light not only on the chemistry and dynamics of the atmosphere, but also on Venus's water history and the possible development of exotic life forms. "To make informed choices about which technologies to prioritize, we need to carefully study the planet's air ocean of atmosphere and its surface features," he emphasized.
A step towards new discoveries
In addition to the VERITAS, DAVINCI, and Envision missions, the next major breakthrough, according to Paul Byrne, a planetary scientist at Washington University in St. Louis, should be to combine the study of Venus' cloud layer using aircraft with ground-based studies using landing platforms or even future rovers.
Byrne, who leads the Strategic Plan Analysis Working Group at VExAG, notes that balloon “cloud flights” are possible today using existing technology, and NASA could launch a competition to develop a mission right now, he says.
Landers can also last longer than the Soviet Venus probes, which operated on the surface for about two hours a decade ago. Thanks to modern technology and instrumentation, longer operations are possible — about eight hours or more in the extreme conditions of the Venusian surface.
In the future, long-term balloon flights of up to a year or even penetration below the cloud layer, where temperatures exceed 100°C, are possible. Byrne also suggests that drone-like flying platforms could be mounted on larger “mother” aerostats designed for long-term atmospheric stay.
Ambitious researchers and new challenges
Is it possible to create a larger aircraft that could explore the lower atmosphere, all the way to the surface? This requires both new approaches to “passive buoyancy” (such as balloons) and the development of high-temperature electronics. Development of such technologies is already underway, but increased funding is needed for a significant breakthrough.
Ultimately, Byrne concludes that the next phase of Venus exploration involves going “into the air” and “on land” simultaneously, and humanity is technologically capable of doing so. Further steps include developing long-lasting balloons, durable landers, and even Mars rovers specifically for Venus. However, Byrne emphasizes that to achieve all of this, much greater investment and a proper development strategy are needed than we see today.
