DAVINCI+ and VERITAS: NASA’s return to Venus

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 DAVINCI+ and VERITAS: NASA’s return to Venus

Introduction

It’s been 59 years since NASA last visited the hot, hellish and scorching planet of Venus on December 14, 1962. But, just like Artemis, NASA is returning to Venus with its two new missions, DAVINCI+ and VERITAS. Now as the name of the first one might seem related to Leonardo Da Vinci, it is not. Though it does have some similarities with the man. It will start a new renaissance in scientific history and also improve our understanding of Venus. Actually, each of the names is an acronym for their full names! DAVINCI+ becomes Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble Gases, Chemistry, and Imaging Plus whereas VERITAS becomes Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy.

Image Source - Google | Image by - Lockheed Martin | An artist's impression of VERITAS and DAVINCI+ respectively


DAVINCI+

The beginning

It all started in 2015 when many people sent proposals to NASA for the DAVINCI being the 13th Discovery Mission by NASA when NASA was looking for missions as the next Discovery Missions. DAVINCI was selected among the five finalists but two other competing missions, Lucy and Psyche were chosen as the 13th and 14th missions. The request for DAVINCI as DAVINCI+ was sent again. This time it got selected to be the next Discovery Mission which would do something no other mission to Venus has ever done.


The instruments

The instruments on the probe which will be used when it will be plunged into the atmosphere of venus are as follows:

  • Venus Mass Spectrometer (VMS) - It will provide surveys of noble and trace gases. It will discover new gas species if any. It is almost similar to the Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer which was on the Curiosity.

  • Venus Tunable Laser Spectrometer (VTLS) - It will make the high precision calculation and will address key scientific questions related to the upper clouds and near-surface environment.

  • Venus Atmospheric Structure Investigation (VASI) - It will provide measurements for the structure and dynamics of the Venusian atmosphere

  • Venus Descent Imager (VenDI) - It will provide high contrast images of the place where the probe will land.


VERITAS

The beginning

The proposal history of VERITAS is almost the same as DAVINCI+ when it all started in 2015 when many people sent proposals to NASA for the VERITAS being the 13th Discovery Mission by NASA when NASA was looking for missions as the next Discovery Missions. VERITAS was selected among the five finalists but two other competing missions, Lucy and Psyche were chosen as the 13th and 14th missions. The request for VERITAS was sent again. This time it got selected to be the next Discovery Mission which would accompany DAVINCI+ on its unforgettable voyage between 2028 and 2030.


The instruments

The instruments on the orbiter which will be used when it will be deployed into the orbit of venus are as follows:

  • Venus Emissivity Mapper (VEM) - It will map the surface emissivity in five atmospheric windows. It will use its five atmospheric bands for calibration and detection of water vapour.

  • Venus Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar(VISAR) - It will generate global data sets for topography and SAR imaging. It will create the first planetary active surface deformation map.



The pair of DAVINCI+ and VERITAS will start a new renaissance in the scientific industry. They will not only study Venus but will also do a study that no one will be able to repay…

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