SUMMARYNASA has advanced two Venus missions toward launch in the early 2030s, with DAVINCI now planned for December 2030 and VERITAS for November 2032. DAVINCI will drop a probe through Venus’s atmosphere and return the first direct images of the surface since 1982, while VERITAS will map the planet from orbit using radar. The European Space Agency’s Envision orbiter is also set for 2032, and Rocket Lab is preparing a privately funded Venus probe for as soon as next year.
Most planetary scientists will tell you the heyday of Venus exploration was more than a generation ago. That is about to change.
Two NASA missions are on track to launch to Venus in the early 2030s. The first, known as the Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging (DAVINCI), is now scheduled for launch in December 2030, a year earlier than previously planned. DAVINCI will send a parachute-assisted descent probe through the atmosphere of Venus, returning the first direct images of the planet's surface since 1982. A second mission, Venus Emissivity, Radio science, InSAR, Topography, And Spectroscopy (VERITAS), will follow with a launch in November 2032 to map the Venusian surface by radar from orbit.
The European Space Agency is building another orbiter, Envision, for launch to Venus in 2032. The Venus armada might get started as soon as next year, when Rocket Lab aims to launch a privately funded probe to search for signs of organic material in the planet's clouds.