NASA plans two new missions to Venus, the first in decades

DAVINCI+, consisting of a fly-by spacecraft and an atmospheric descent probe, is also expected to return the first high-resolution images of unique geological characteristics on Venus known as ‘tesserae.’

NASA on Wednesday announced plans to launch two new scientific missions to Venus between 2028 and 2030 — its first in decades — to study the atmosphere and geologic features of Earth’s so-called sister planet. The United States space agency said it was awarding about $500m for development of each of the two missions, dubbed DAVINCI+ (short for Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble Gases, Chemistry and Imaging) and VERITAS (an acronym for Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography and Spectroscopy). DAVINCI+ will measure the composition of the dense Venusian atmosphere, seeking to improve understanding of how it evolved, while VERITAS will map the planet’s surface from orbit to help determine its geological history and why it developed so differently than Earth, NASA said.