Er, I mean, Venus - so very lovely from afar, so very deadly up close.

DAVINCI+, slated to launch around 2029, will fly by Venus twice to snap close-up photos of the planet’s surface before tossing a robotic probe into its thick atmosphere to measure its gasses and other elements.

VERITAS is slated to launch around 2028. It’ll orbit Venus and map its surface, giving scientists a better picture of the planet’s geological history. It’ll use a synthetic aperture radar and track surface elevations to “create 3D reconstructions of topography and confirm whether processes such as plate tectonics and volcanism are still active on Venus,” NASA said in a statement.

Another camera on VERITAS will be sensitive to a wavelength that could spot signs of water vapor in Venus’ atmosphere, which, if detected, could hint that active volcanoes had been degassing on the planet’s surface sometime long ago.

Both missions are part of NASA's Discovery Program, which is focused on solar system exploration. Each mission has a far lower cost cap than NASA's "big" missions, and tends to be more focused on a specific scientific goal.

https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/2/22465588/nasa-mission-to-venus-davinci-veritas-discovery-program

Originally posted on Facebook.