News Archive / Tagged: Venus

• NASA selects 2 missions to study Venus

  Theresa CrossJune 3rd, 2021

  As part of NASA’s emerging area of research, two new missions have been selected to study Venus as part of NASA’s Discovery Program.

• Understanding Venus: New facility to simulate conditions on Earth’s twin planet

  Tomasz NowakowskiAugust 3rd, 2018

  The German Space Agency (DLR) has opened a new simulation facility at its Planetary Spectroscopy Laboratory (PSL) in Berlin. The facility could help scientists better understand the surface of Venus hidden behind the planet’s dense atmosphere.

• NASA Glenn experiments shedding new light on Venus’ shrouded surface

  Michael ColeSeptember 4th, 2017

  CLEVELAND, Ohio — A special NASA test chamber apparatus is helping scientists explore the mysteries of Venus right here on Earth. The chamber is located at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. It is hoped that this new vessel will help prepare the space agency for missions to extreme worlds. 

• Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft detects strong winds on Venus

  Tomasz NowakowskiSeptember 2nd, 2017

  Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft orbiting Venus has spotted extremely strong winds near the planet’s equator blowing at speeds of over 178 mph (286 km/h). The newly discovered, high-velocity winds could provide important hints about the dynamics of the Venusian atmosphere.

• JPL proposes exploring Venus with a clockwork rover

  Curt GodwinAugust 29th, 2017

  NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) proposes taking a page out of a Swiss watchmaker's handbook to design a long-lived rover to explore Venus' surface. Utilizing centuries-old mechanical computing concepts, but with a modern upgrade, engineers at JPL hope to design a rover capable of exploring the unforgiving Venusian terrain and returning data to Earth.

• India announces opportunity for instruments on Venus mission

  Paul KnightlyMay 9th, 2017

  The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is seeking experiments to include on a potential mission to explore Venus. A launch date was not provided for the mission, but it seeks to build on past missions launched by other nations that have included satellites, landers, and atmospheric probes.

• Proposed CubeSat mission to study atmospheric processes on Venus

  Tomasz NowakowskiApril 9th, 2017

  A small CubeSat designed to investigate atmospheric processes on Venus has been recently chosen by NASA for further development. The spacecraft, known as the CubeSat UV Experiment (CUVE), is one of ten missions to study Solar System planets and asteroids, selected by the agency under the Planetary Science Deep Space SmallSat Studies (PSDS3) program.

• NASA scientists will discuss Venus exploration with Russian colleagues

  Laurel KornfeldMarch 15th, 2017

  After releasing a joint report proposing a robotic mission to Venus, American and Russian scientists will meet this week to identifying shared scientific goals for the potential project.

• NASA Glenn researchers develop electronics for longer Venus surface missions

  Michael ColeFebruary 15th, 2017

  GLENN RESEARCH CENTER, Ohio — Venus is our closest planetary neighbor. However, its mean surface temperature is at a horrendous 863 °F (462 °C) with a crushing atmospheric pressure 90 times that of Earth; consequently, the operating lifespan of any spacecraft visiting its surface has been very short. The work of a group of scientists at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, may change all that.

• Second time’s a charm: Japanese Akatsuki spacecraft enters Venus orbit

  Tomasz NowakowskiDecember 9th, 2015

  After the first try ended in failure five years ago, Japan's first Venus Climate Orbiter, Akatsuki, successfully entered Venusian orbit on Monday, Dec. 7. Japan is only the fourth entity, behind Russia, the United States, and the European Space Agency, to place a spacecraft around Earth's nearest neighbor.

• U.S. and Russia to resume talks on joint mission to Venus

  Tomasz NowakowskiOctober 5th, 2015

  A joint U.S.-Russian mission to Venus that could take place after 2025 is under consideration, according to Lev Zeleny, the director of the Space Research Institute (IKI) in Moscow.

• India eyes possible mission to Venus

  Tomasz NowakowskiJuly 19th, 2015

  Encouraged by their successful Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) and the recent launch of five British satellites into space, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO ) mulls next possible space exploration destinations. According to ISRO Chairman Kiran Kumar, one of the considered missions would visit Earth’s “sister” planet – Venus.

• Inflatable Venus plane may compete for next NASA New Frontiers mission

  Jim SharkeyMay 18th, 2015

  The hot and hostile surface environment of Venus poses unique challenges to scientific missions to explore the planet. In an effort to deal with these challenges, Northrop Grumman conducted a feasibility study in 2012 of an inflatable propeller-powered aircraft called the Venus Atmospheric Maneuverability Platform (VAMP). The aircraft would fly the skies above Venus at […]

• JAXA prepares another attempt to insert Akatsuki spacecraft into Venus orbit

  Britt RawcliffeFebruary 15th, 2015

  The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has announced that their spacecraft Akatsuki will be attempting once more to reach an orbit around Venus. The news comes almost 5 years after the spacecraft was first launched aboard their H-IIA flagship rocket out of Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. The next attempt is planned for Dec 7, […]

• R.I.P. Venus Express: remembering eight years on the brink of hell

  Tomasz NowakowskiFebruary 3rd, 2015

  For one space probe, it was a hell of a ride to our “sister planet”, Venus. Eight long years of studying the inhospitable world was significantly more than ESA scientists expected from the mission. The Venus Express spacecraft launched on Nov. 9, 2005 and entered the orbit of its target planet on Apr. 11, 2006, was […]