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Venus planetary science (Venusian?) lacks the abundance of in-situ data that Mars has. We'll know more in a decade.

by jvanderbot 2y ago

pantalaimon 2y ago
Are there any probes planned?
- kulahan 2y ago
  Yes, they cover this in the article. Flyby + probe.
- jvanderbot 2y ago
  Yes! Venus just got a lot of attention lately, when it was clear Mars priorities were declining. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planets/venuspage.html https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planets/venuspage.html DAVINCI - NASA Venus Flyby and Probe (2029) VERITAS - NASA Venus Orbiter (2031) EnVision - ESA Venus Orbiter (2031) Davinci: https://ssed.gsfc.nasa.gov/davinci/ https://ssed.gsfc.nasa.gov/davinci/ Veritas: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/veritas/ https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/veritas/ EnVision: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Envision_factsheet https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Envisi... That davinci page is pretty cool!
dylan604 2y ago
What new tech have they used to allow the in-situ data to be obtained that allows the lander to not be crushed/melt on the surface?
- jvanderbot 2y ago
  Crushing is manageable but melting is the issue. At this point all planned missions are still orbiters, so Venus will still not have the wealth of in-situ data that Mars does. There are two major concepts that I found really fun: 1) airships and 2) steampunk rovers. Airships: 2018 JPL: https://science.nasa.gov/resource/aerial-platforms-for-the-scientific-exploration-of-venus/ https://science.nasa.gov/resource/aerial-platforms-for-the-s... 2020s report on in-situ sampling using airships as mothership https://kiss.caltech.edu/final_reports/Venus_In_Situ_Final_Report.pdf https://kiss.caltech.edu/final_reports/Venus_In_Situ_Final_R... Clockwork rover for long-lived venus exploration: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/a-clockwork-rover-for-venus/ https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/a-clockwork-rover-for-venus/ I don't think that last one was (too) serious, but it was interesting to sus out the costs/benefits at TRL1-2 at least. AGU is a fairly open, very accessible conference for tracking progress on these. Here's a short paper on venus long lived surface missions. https://arxiv.org/pdf/1611.03365 https://arxiv.org/pdf/1611.03365
  - tivert 2y ago
    > Clockwork rover for long-lived venus exploration: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/a-clockwork-rover-for-venus/ https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/a-clockwork-rover-for-venus/ STRANDBEEST EVOLUTION 2021: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C97kMKwZ2-g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C97kMKwZ2-g Screw Venus, they need to work on adding mechanical computers to these Strandbeests, so they can turn around and wander the world's beaches autonomously for years at a time.

Venus planetary science (Venusian?) lacks the abundance of in-situ data that Mars has. We'll know more in a decade.

pantalaimon 2y ago

Are there any probes planned?

kulahan 2y ago
Yes, they cover this in the article. Flyby + probe.
jvanderbot 2y ago
Yes! Venus just got a lot of attention lately, when it was clear Mars priorities were declining. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planets/venuspage.html https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planets/venuspage.html DAVINCI - NASA Venus Flyby and Probe (2029) VERITAS - NASA Venus Orbiter (2031) EnVision - ESA Venus Orbiter (2031) Davinci: https://ssed.gsfc.nasa.gov/davinci/ https://ssed.gsfc.nasa.gov/davinci/ Veritas: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/veritas/ https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/veritas/ EnVision: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Envision_factsheet https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Envisi... That davinci page is pretty cool!

dylan604 2y ago

What new tech have they used to allow the in-situ data to be obtained that allows the lander to not be crushed/melt on the surface?

jvanderbot 2y ago
Crushing is manageable but melting is the issue. At this point all planned missions are still orbiters, so Venus will still not have the wealth of in-situ data that Mars does. There are two major concepts that I found really fun: 1) airships and 2) steampunk rovers. Airships: 2018 JPL: https://science.nasa.gov/resource/aerial-platforms-for-the-scientific-exploration-of-venus/ https://science.nasa.gov/resource/aerial-platforms-for-the-s... 2020s report on in-situ sampling using airships as mothership https://kiss.caltech.edu/final_reports/Venus_In_Situ_Final_Report.pdf https://kiss.caltech.edu/final_reports/Venus_In_Situ_Final_R... Clockwork rover for long-lived venus exploration: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/a-clockwork-rover-for-venus/ https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/a-clockwork-rover-for-venus/ I don't think that last one was (too) serious, but it was interesting to sus out the costs/benefits at TRL1-2 at least. AGU is a fairly open, very accessible conference for tracking progress on these. Here's a short paper on venus long lived surface missions. https://arxiv.org/pdf/1611.03365 https://arxiv.org/pdf/1611.03365
- tivert 2y ago
  > Clockwork rover for long-lived venus exploration: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/a-clockwork-rover-for-venus/ https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/a-clockwork-rover-for-venus/ STRANDBEEST EVOLUTION 2021: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C97kMKwZ2-g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C97kMKwZ2-g Screw Venus, they need to work on adding mechanical computers to these Strandbeests, so they can turn around and wander the world's beaches autonomously for years at a time.