'Venus Exploration After Over 30 Years' NASA to Analyze Atmospheric Composition and Terrain

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] NASA, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is embarking on an exploration of Venus, the planet closest to Earth. It is the first Venus mission in 32 years since the launch of the Venus probe 'Magellan' in 1989.

On the 2nd (local time), NASA announced that it selected 'DAVINCI+' to analyze the composition of Venus's atmosphere and 'VERITAS' to study Venus's terrain as winners of the solar system exploration mission planning competition, the 'Discovery Program Competition.'

Each winning project will receive approximately $500 million (about 556.7 billion KRW) in funding. The missions are scheduled to begin between 2028 and 2030.

The goal of DAVINCI+ is to deploy a probe equipped with analytical instruments to determine the composition of Venus's atmosphere. Understanding the atmospheric composition is expected to provide better insight into why Venus experiences an extreme greenhouse effect.

The New York Times explained, "Recently, a group of scientists presented evidence that microorganisms might exist in Venus's atmosphere, drawing renewed attention."

The plan also includes capturing the first high-resolution images of the 'Tessera' region on Venus. Tessera is compared to Earth's 'continents' and is a region that raises speculation about the possibility of Earth-like plate tectonics on Venus.

VERITAS aims to create a three-dimensional map of Venus's terrain using radar and to confirm whether earthquakes and volcanic activity are still occurring. It plans to determine if active volcanoes are emitting water vapor into the atmosphere and to detect infrared emissions from the surface to map the types of rocks present.

NASA last launched the Venus probe 'Magellan' in 1989, which entered Venus's orbit the following year and operated for four years, marking the end of its Venus exploration efforts. Instead, NASA has sent five rovers, four orbiters, and two landers to Mars.

This is the first U.S.-led atmospheric exploration of Venus since 1978. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson stated, "DAVINCI+ and VERITAS are missions aimed at uncovering how Venus became a hellish world," adding, "They will provide the scientific community with an opportunity to investigate a planet we have not visited in over 30 years."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.