Days, after Nasa decided to send two missions to Earth’s mysterious twin Venus, the European Space Agency (ESA), has announced its own probe for the inhabitable world. EnVision will be the next orbiter to circle over Venus providing a holistic view of the planet from its inner core to the upper atmosphere.
While the two Nasa probes DAVINCI+ and VERITAS will enter the Venutian atmosphere, EnVision will determine how and why Venus and Earth evolved so differently, even while being in the habitable zone to the Sun. The agency is targeting a launch as soon as 2030, similar to a timeline of the two Nasa probes.
A new era in the exploration of our closest, yet wildly different, Solar System neighbour awaits us. Together with the newly announced Nasa-led Venus missions, we will have an extremely comprehensive scientific programme at this enigmatic planet well into the next decade,” Günther Hasinger, ESA director of science said in a statement.
Why did Venus change?
Venus is the closest neighbour to Earth in the inner solar system, and despite its similarity in size and composition, the next-door neighbour has evolved differently over the course of the planet. Instead of being habitable like Earth, Venus has witnessed severe climatic changes, developed a toxic atmosphere that is enshrouded with thick sulphuric acid-rich clouds.
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EnVision will look to find answers to questions of “What history did Venus experience to arrive at this state and does this foretell Earths fate should it, too, undergo a catastrophic greenhouse effect?,” ESA said. The agency added that they will try to understand whether Venus is still geologically active and could it have once hosted an ocean and even sustained life?
EnVision to study Venus composition, atmosphere
The orbiter will be loaded with a sounder to reveal underground layering, and spectrometers to study the atmosphere and surface. “The spectrometers will monitor trace gases in the atmosphere and analyse the surface composition, looking for any changes that might be linked to signs of active volcanism,” ESA said. The spacecraft will also have a radio science experiment that will probe the planets internal structure and gravity field as well as “investigate the structure and composition of the atmosphere.”
EnVision benefits from collaboration with NASA, combining excellence in European and American expertise in Venus science and technology, to create this ambitious mission, says Günther adding that the growing mission fleet will provide future generations, the best insights ever into how our planetary neighbourhood works.
The first launch opportunity for the orbiter will arrive in 2031, after which launch windows will open in 2032 and 2033. Set to be launched onboard the Ariane-6 rocket, the spacecraft will reach Venus’ orbit after 15 months with a further 16 months to achieve orbit circularisation through aerobraking. The orbiter will hover nearly 220-540 km above the planet.