A MISSION to send a spacecraft into Venus’s “hot, thick” clouds, getting as close as 93 miles from the planet’s surface has been unveiled.
The European Space Agency [ESA] is preparing to send the orbital spacecraft to the second planet from the Sun, a difficult feat due to the planet’s intense atmosphere.
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ESA described the challenges in its EnVision mission In a statement, the biggest being the planet’s “hot, thick atmosphere,”It is composed of sulfuric acid fumes and carbon dioxide.
The agency will therefore need to have a plan for safety. “surf” Venus’ atmosphere without having the spacecraft burn up.
ESA is currently working on developing an “aerobraking” method, involving the spacecraft slowing down so that it can lower its orbit to just above the planet’s atmosphere.
The spacecraft will attempt to gather as much information about the planet as possible once it reaches this stage.
EnVision hopes to replicate this process for thousands of orbits, if it succeeds.
Thomas Voirin, EnVision’s study manager, stated that the craft would reach as low at 93 miles above Venusian soil to obtain the best images.
The orbital probe will need to be able to deal with the hostile atmosphere.
Engineers at ESA are testing several materials and coatings to protect the spacecraft’s scientific instruments.
“We want to check that these parts are resistant to being eroded, and also maintain their optical properties,” said Voirin.
“Meaning they do not degrade or darken, which might have knock-on effects in terms of their thermal behavior because we have delicate scientific instruments that must maintain a set temperature.
“We also need to avoid flaking or outgassing, which lead to contamination.”
ESA plans to launch the EnVision mission on Venus in 2012. “early 2030s,” just a few years after NASA’s scheduled 2029 launch date of the DAVINCI mission.
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