The question of life on Venus is exciting scientists. A new mission supported by NASA promises to provide answers to the questions about this planet.
Among the favorites: Venus
Venus has always attracted attention due to the similarities it shares with our planet, especially in terms of size, mass and composition. However, its climatic conditions make it difficult to think of the real possibility of life there.
Its high temperatures can reach around 473 degrees Celsius, while the particular conditions of its atmosphere indicate a high density of carbon dioxide, making human life impossible.
Despite this, scientists continue to assess the conditions and analyze the terrain. Most of the missions to this planet’s territory have revolved around these troubling questions: did life ever exist there? Or could there be life there in the future?
A new mission scheduled for this year promises answers. It is the first private mission to the second planet in the solar system. The space capsule was specially reinforced for the particular conditions of that world. Its main objective will be to study the clouds in the sky of Venus in search of signs of life.
Supporting the new space economy
The mission is being led by the private company Rocket Lab of Long Beach, California, together with partners at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. It will be the first time a private mission has landed on this planet and has left everyone in a state of shock.
However, they are not alone. In this respect, NASA has a central role in supporting private commercial space initiatives by making its expertise available. In this case, NASA was actively involved through its specialized knowledge regarding the thermal protection of small spacecraft.
This development is part of NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology program. It is part of the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, which supports all these types of advances. In this case, it was the heat shield for Rocket Lab’s Venus mission.
For its part, the Ames Research Center team has long been working with private companies to adapt NASA materials into solutions that support the growth of the so-called new space economy .
In this case, the company worked with Rocket Lab to improve its spacecraft by providing thermal protection. This is related to an approach that contemplates the future of space exploration for commercial purposes, which would allow for cost reduction and the development of new technologies.
Cutting-edge technology
In this context, engineers at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California, recently completed a fit check of the two halves of the space capsule, which will soon be sent to Venus.
NASA contributed cutting-edge technology to the mission. Innovative thermal protection technology for small spacecraft is key to their performance on the planet. It is a development designed for extreme entry environments (HEEET).
Designed at Ames, it is a specially designed woven heat shield to protect spacecraft from temperatures of up to 2,000 degrees Celsius. It will also allow the probe to deploy from Rocket Lab’s Photon spacecraft bus and record measurements as it descends through the planet’s atmosphere.
The mission that surprised everyone promises answers about Venus. Although there is no confirmed date for its launch at the moment , we hope to receive news soon about this Rocket Lab mission. The future of space exploration is getting closer and closer and will allow us to know the mysteries of the second planet in the Milky Way without risks.