Tag: Venus
-
Exploring VERITAS, one of NASA’s new missions to Venus
Selected as a finalist alongside three other missions for NASA’s next Discovery program missions in February 2020, the Jet Propulsion Lab’s VERITAS mission was chosen by NASA as one of the agency’s next two planetary research missions on June 2, 2021. VERITAS (Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy), like the European Space Agency’s…
-
Previewing EnVision: ESA’s newest mission to Venus
On June 10, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced that they had selected their next mission to Venus — EnVision. The mission, set to operate alongside NASA’s newly announced DAVINCI+ and VERITAS missions, will study Earth’s sister planet in extreme detail. Selected as the agency’s fifth medium-class mission in their Cosmic Vision program, EnVision will…
-
Previewing EnVision: ESA’s newest mission to Venus
On June 10, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced that they had selected their next mission to Venus — EnVision. The mission, set to operate alongside NASA’s newly announced DAVINCI+ and VERITAS missions, will study Earth’s sister planet in extreme detail. Selected as the agency’s fifth medium-class mission in their Cosmic Vision program, EnVision will…
-
ESA roundup: Ariane 6, James Webb, & BepiColombo
Three flagship European Space Agency (ESA) projects have or will reach critical milestones this month, both on Earth and in space. On the ground, the Agency’s upcoming Ariane 6 launcher’s solid rocket boosters passed their final test firing while the James Webb Space Telescope — a partnership with NASA and the Canadian Space Agency —…
-
ESA roundup: Ariane 6, James Webb, & BepiColombo
Three flagship European Space Agency (ESA) projects have or will reach critical milestones this month, both on Earth and in space. On the ground, the Agency’s upcoming Ariane 6 launcher’s solid rocket boosters passed their final test firing while the James Webb Space Telescope — a partnership with NASA and the Canadian Space Agency —…
-
Phosphine on Venus; unpacking the Venusian discovery
Let’s get the biggest point out of the way first: No, scientists did not announce proof of life on another planet. What they did find, however, is tantalizing in its potential meaning – though a great deal of work remains to rule out the possibility that other, unknown processes could be creating the phosphine signature…
-
NASA picks missions to Venus, Triton and Io as finalists for Discovery funding
An artist’s conception shows the DAVINCI+ probe descending through Venus’ atmosphere on the end of a parachute. (NASA / GSFC Photo) NASA has selected four proposed Discovery-class interplanetary missions to receive $3 million to flesh out their concepts, with the aim of choosing one or two of them next year for further funding. Two of…
-
Breakthrough Discuss turns spotlight on search for life elsewhere in solar system
Planetary scientist Carolyn Porco shows a graphic that compares the size of Enceladus, a moon of Saturn, with the British Isles. (Breakthrough Initiatives Photo) STANFORD, Calif. — Are there microbes falling in the snows of Enceladus? Could a drone fly to biological hot spots on Titan? Is life floating in the sulfurous clouds of Venus?…
-
Japanese spacecraft spots planet-spanning wave on Venus
In these images from Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft, a stationary bow wave is seen on Venus over several days in December 2015. Credit: JAXA Images from Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft have revealed a gigantic wave in the atmosphere of Venus, and scientists say it may be the largest such feature in the solar system. The bow-shaped wave…
-
From haven to hell: NASA climate models suggest Venus may have been habitable
A land-ocean pattern like the one shown in this artist’s conception was used in a climate model to show how storm clouds could have shielded ancient Venus from strong sunlight. (Credit: NASA) Today Venus is a hellish planet with a crushingly dense atmosphere of carbon dioxide, but billions of years ago, it could have had…