- GS TIMES STAFF
NASA has selected two new missions DAVINCI+ and VERITAS to Venus, Earth’s nearest planetary neighbour.
- Part of NASA’s Discovery Program, the missions aim to understand how Venus became an inferno-like world when it has so many other characteristics similar to ours – and may have been the first habitable world in the solar system.
- NASA is awarding approximately $500 million per mission for development. Each is expected to launch in the 2028-2030 timeframe.
About DAVINCI+ Mission
- DAVINCI+ will measure the composition of Venus’ atmosphere to understand how it formed and evolved, as well as determine whether the planet ever had an ocean.
- DAVINCI+ will return the first high resolution pictures of the unique geological features on Venus known as “tesserae,” which may be comparable to Earth’s continents, suggesting that Venus has plate tectonics.
About VERITAS Mission
- VERITAS will map Venus’ surface to determine the planet’s geologic history and understand why it developed so differently than Earth.
- Orbiting Venus with a synthetic aperture radar, VERITAS will chart surface elevations over nearly the entire planet to create 3D reconstructions of topography and confirm whether processes such as plate tectonics and volcanism are still active on Venus.
About NASA Discovery Program
- Established in 1992, NASA’s Discovery Program has supported the development and implementation of over 20 missions and instruments. These selections are part of the ninth Discovery Program competition.
