124-513: Venus Life Finder is a planned uncrewed spacecraft to Venus designed to detect signs of life in the Venusian atmosphere . Slated to be the first private mission to another planet, the spacecraft is being developed by Rocket Lab in collaboration with a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . The spacecraft will consist of a Photon Explorer cruise stage which will send
248-580: A 58-centimeter (23 in) sphere which weighed 83.6 kilograms (184 lb). Explorer 1 carried sensors which confirmed the existence of the Van Allen belts, a major scientific discovery at the time, while Sputnik 1 carried no scientific sensors. On 17 March 1958, the US orbited its second satellite, Vanguard 1 , which was about the size of a grapefruit, and which remains in a 670-by-3,850-kilometre (360 by 2,080 nmi) orbit as of 2016 . The first attempted lunar probe
372-512: A Telescope of 45 or 60 Foot long, she always appeared to me all over equally lucid, that I can’t say I observ’d so much as one spot in her, tho in Jupiter and Mars, which seem much less to us, they are very plainly perceived. For if Venus had any such thing as Sea and Land, the former must necessarily show much more obscure than the other, as anyone may satisfy himself, that from a very high Mountain will but look down upon our Earth. I thought that perhaps
496-416: A certain extent, anywhere from about 50 to 54 km or so above the surface would be the easiest altitude in which to base an exploration or colony, where the temperature would be in the crucial "liquid water" range of 273 K (0 °C) to 323 K (50 °C) and the air pressure the same as habitable regions of Earth. As CO 2 is heavier than air, the colony's air (nitrogen and oxygen) could keep
620-522: A considerable amount of time, is to follow a trajectory on the Interplanetary Transport Network . A space telescope or space observatory is a telescope in outer space used to observe astronomical objects. Space telescopes avoid the filtering and distortion of electromagnetic radiation which they observe, and avoid light pollution which ground-based observatories encounter. They are divided into two types: satellites which map
744-549: A descent through that atmosphere towards an intended/targeted region of scientific value, and a safe landing that guarantees the integrity of the instrumentation on the craft is preserved. While the robotic spacecraft is going through those parts, it must also be capable of estimating its position compared to the surface in order to ensure reliable control of itself and its ability to maneuver well. The robotic spacecraft must also efficiently perform hazard assessment and trajectory adjustments in real time to avoid hazards. To achieve this,
868-402: A more transparent haze. In 2011, the spacecraft discovered that Venus has a thin ozone layer at an altitude of 100 km. Venus has an extended ionosphere located at altitudes 120–300 km. The ionosphere almost coincides with the thermosphere. The high levels of the ionization are maintained only over the dayside of the planet. Over the nightside the concentration of the electrons
992-478: A non-planetary origin. The Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) was equipped with an electric field detector specifically to detect lightning and the Venera 13 and 14 missions included a radio receiver and point discharge sensor to search for thunderstorms. Other missions equipped with instruments that could search for lightning included Venera 9 which had a visible spectrometer; Pioneer which had a star sensor; and VEGA which had
1116-556: A pattern associated with weather activity. According to the whistler observations, the lightning rate is at least half of that on Earth and may possibly be similar. However, the Venus Express findings are incompatible with data from the JAXA Akatsuki spacecraft which indicate a very low flash rate. Recent work from a Parker Solar Probe flyby indicates that the direction of the whistler waves is towards Venus rather than away, indicating
1240-739: A photometer. The mechanism generating lightning on Venus, if present, remains unknown. Whilst the sulfuric acid cloud droplets can become charged, the atmosphere may be too electrically conductive for the charge to be sustained, preventing lightning. Lightning could potentially contribute to atmospheric chemistry, through heating which could break apart molecules that contain carbon, oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen, and hydrogen molecules (carbon dioxide, nitrogen gas, sulfuric acid, and water), that will recombine to form new molecules ("carbon oxides", "suboxides", "sulfur oxides", "oxygen", "elemental sulfur", "nitrogen oxides", "sulfuric acid clusters", "polysulfur oxides", "carbon soot", etc.). Lightning could contribute to
1364-433: A positively charged atom. The positively charged ions are guided to pass through positively charged grids that contains thousands of precise aligned holes are running at high voltages. Then, the aligned positively charged ions accelerates through a negative charged accelerator grid that further increases the speed of the ions up to 40 kilometres per second (90,000 mph). The momentum of these positively charged ions provides
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#17328594177181488-611: A pre-programmed list of operations that will be executed unless otherwise instructed. A robotic spacecraft for scientific measurements is often called a space probe or space observatory . Many space missions are more suited to telerobotic rather than crewed operation, due to lower cost and risk factors. In addition, some planetary destinations such as Venus or the vicinity of Jupiter are too hostile for human survival, given current technology. Outer planets such as Saturn , Uranus , and Neptune are too distant to reach with current crewed spaceflight technology, so telerobotic probes are
1612-462: A series of burns culminating in a lunar gravity assist which will send the spacecraft to Venus. During the 128 day interplanetary cruise, the spacecraft will make occasional mid-course corrections in preparation for arrival at Venus. The probe will separate from the Explorer cruise stage 30 minutes before Venus atmospheric entry on 13 May 2025. Entering on the night-side to minimize background light for
1736-514: A small atmospheric probe into Venus with a single instrument, an autofluorescing nephelometer , to search for organic compounds within Venus' atmosphere. Originally planned for launch in May 2023, the probe is now planned to launch no earlier than 30 December 2024, with arrival at Venus on 13 May 2025. Research published in 2020 indicated the presence of phosphine (PH 3 ) in Venus' atmosphere, resulting in
1860-612: A small atmospheric probe with a autofluorescing nephelometer . The Explorer cruise stage, first developed for NASA 's CAPSTONE , is the interplanetary variant of the Photon satellite bus. The Explorer cruise stage, a self contained spacecraft with solar arrays for generating power, an attitude control system and a HyperCurie engine for propulsion, will remain attached to the atmospheric probe until 30 minutes prior to atmospheric entry. The 17 kg (37 lb) cone-shaped atmospheric probe measures just 40 cm (16 in) across, which
1984-640: A strong greenhouse effect , trapping solar energy and raising the surface temperature to around 740 K (467 °C), hotter than any other terrestrial planet in the Solar System , even that of Mercury despite being located farther out from the Sun and receiving only 25% of the solar energy (per unit area) Mercury does. The average temperature on the surface is above the melting points of lead (600 K, 327 °C), tin (505 K, 232 °C), and zinc (693 K, 420 °C). The thick troposphere also makes
2108-413: A wide array of sulfate salts, raising pH of droplet to 1.0 in one of scenarios explaining the sulfur dioxide measurements. In 2009, a prominent bright spot in the atmosphere was noted by an amateur astronomer and photographed by Venus Express . Its cause is currently unknown, with surface volcanism advanced as a possible explanation. The clouds of Venus may be capable of producing lightning , but
2232-496: A widespread public and academic interest in the possibility of life in the Venusian atmosphere. Although the probe will not directly search for phosphine, it will search for organic compounds in Venus' atmosphere, which would indicate potentially habitable conditions within Venus' cloud layer . Additionally, the mission will demonstrate an inexpensive, deep space mission with a small spacecraft and small launch vehicle, as well as mature
2356-400: Is carbon monoxide , water vapour and atomic oxygen as well. Hydrogen is in relatively short supply in the Venusian atmosphere. A large amount of the planet's hydrogen is theorised to have been lost to space, with the remainder being mostly bound up in water vapour and sulfuric acid (H 2 SO 4 ). Strong evidence of significant hydrogen loss over the historical evolution of the planet is
2480-489: Is a potential biomarker indicating the presence of life. This was prompted by an announcement in September 2020 that this compound had been detected in trace amounts. No known abiotic source present on Venus could produce phosphine in the quantities detected. On review, an interpolation error was discovered that resulted in multiple spurious spectroscopic lines, including the spectral feature of phosphine. Re-analysis of data with
2604-459: Is about three kilometers, but this will likely vary with the wind conditions. Little to no solar energy could conceivably be collected by solar panels on a surface probe. In fact, due to the thick, highly reflective cloud cover, the total solar energy received by the surface of the planet is less than that of the Earth, despite its proximity to the Sun. Sulfuric acid is produced in the upper atmosphere by
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#17328594177182728-422: Is almost zero. The ionosphere of Venus consists of three layers: v1 between 120 and 130 km, v2 between 140 and 160 km and v3 between 200 and 250 km. There may be an additional layer near 180 km. The maximum electron volume density (number of electrons in a unit of volume) of 3 × 10 m is reached in the v2 layer near the subsolar point . The upper boundary of the ionosphere (the ionopause)
2852-406: Is highly variable with the densest layer at about 48.5 km, reaching 0.1 g/m similar to the lower range of cumulonimbus storm clouds on Earth. The cloud cover is such that it reflects more than 60% of the solar light Venus receives, leaving the surface with typical light levels of 14,000 lux , comparable to that on Earth "in the daytime with overcast clouds". The equivalent visibility
2976-441: Is increased fuel consumption or it is a physical hazard such as a poor landing spot in a crater or cliff side that would make landing very not ideal (hazard assessment). In planetary exploration missions involving robotic spacecraft, there are three key parts in the processes of landing on the surface of the planet to ensure a safe and successful landing. This process includes an entry into the planetary gravity field and atmosphere,
3100-415: Is less than 0.1%. Venus's sulfuric acid rain never reaches the ground, but is evaporated by the heat before reaching the surface in a phenomenon known as virga . It is theorized that early volcanic activity released sulfur into the atmosphere and the high temperatures prevented it from being trapped into solid compounds on the surface as it was on the Earth. Besides sulfuric acid, cloud droplets can contain
3224-400: Is less than one. The mesosphere of Venus can be divided into two layers: the lower one between 62 and 73 km and the upper one between 73 and 95 km. In the first layer the temperature is nearly constant at 230 K (−43 °C). This layer coincides with the upper cloud deck. In the second layer, the temperature starts to decrease again, reaching about 165 K (−108 °C) at
3348-422: Is located at altitudes 220–375 km and separates the plasma of the planetary origin from that of the induced magnetosphere . The main ionic species in the v1 and v2 layers is O 2 ion, whereas the v3 layer consists of O ions. The ionospheric plasma is observed to be in motion; solar photoionization on the dayside and ion recombination on the nightside are the processes mainly responsible for accelerating
3472-486: Is located slightly above 50 km. According to measurements by the Magellan and Venus Express probes, the altitude from 52.5 to 54 km has a temperature between 293 K (20 °C) and 310 K (37 °C), and the altitude at 49.5 km above the surface is where the pressure becomes the same as Earth at sea level. As crewed ships sent to Venus would be able to compensate for differences in temperature to
3596-407: Is not known, but is estimated to have occurred around 4 billion years ago. The runaway greenhouse effect may have been caused by the evaporation of the surface water and the rise of the levels of greenhouse gases that followed. Venus's atmosphere has therefore received a great deal of attention from those studying climate change on Earth. There are no geologic forms on the planet to suggest
3720-457: Is not one universally used propulsion system: monopropellant, bipropellant, ion propulsion, etc. Each propulsion system generates thrust in slightly different ways with each system having its own advantages and disadvantages. But, most spacecraft propulsion today is based on rocket engines. The general idea behind rocket engines is that when an oxidizer meets the fuel source, there is explosive release of energy and heat at high speeds, which propels
3844-434: Is observed. In the latitude range 60°–70° cold polar collars exist. They are characterized by temperatures about 30–40 K lower than in the upper troposphere at nearby latitudes. The lower temperature is probably caused by the upwelling of the air in them and by the resulting adiabatic cooling. Such an interpretation is supported by the denser and higher clouds in the collars. The clouds lie at 70–72 km altitude in
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3968-448: Is the coldest place on Venus with temperature as low as 100 K (−173 °C). It is even called a cryosphere. The circulation patterns in the upper mesosphere and thermosphere of Venus are completely different from those in the lower atmosphere. At altitudes 90–150 km the Venusian air moves from the dayside to nightside of the planet, with upwelling over sunlit hemisphere and downwelling over dark hemisphere. The downwelling over
4092-419: Is the same as that of monopropellant propulsion system: very dangerous to manufacture, store, and transport. An ion propulsion system is a type of engine that generates thrust by the means of electron bombardment or the acceleration of ions. By shooting high-energy electrons to a propellant atom (neutrally charge), it removes electrons from the propellant atom and this results in the propellant atom becoming
4216-544: Is the very dense layer of gases surrounding the planet Venus . Venus's atmosphere is composed of 96.5% carbon dioxide and 3.5% nitrogen , with other chemical compounds present only in trace amounts. It is much denser and hotter than that of Earth ; the temperature at the surface is 740 K (467 °C, 872 °F), and the pressure is 93 bar (1,350 psi), roughly the pressure found 900 m (3,000 ft) under water on Earth. The atmosphere of Venus supports decks of opaque clouds of sulfuric acid that cover
4340-426: Is unique because it requires no ignition system, the two liquids would spontaneously combust as soon as they come into contact with each other and produces the propulsion to push the spacecraft forward. The main benefit for having this technology is because that these kinds of liquids have relatively high density, which allows the volume of the propellent tank to be small, therefore increasing space efficacy. The downside
4464-552: The Sun similar to the Earth's orbit. To reach another planet, the simplest practical method is a Hohmann transfer orbit . More complex techniques, such as gravitational slingshots , can be more fuel-efficient, though they may require the probe to spend more time in transit. Some high Delta-V missions (such as those with high inclination changes ) can only be performed, within the limits of modern propulsion, using gravitational slingshots. A technique using very little propulsion, but requiring
4588-777: The International Space Station (ISS), and the Tiangong space station . Currently, the ISS relies on three types of cargo spacecraft: the Russian Progress , along with the American Cargo Dragon 2 , and Cygnus . China's Tiangong space station is solely supplied by the Tianzhou . The American Dream Chaser and Japanese HTV-X are under development for future use with the ISS. The European Automated Transfer Vehicle
4712-462: The JCMT-Venus data has confirmed the existence of phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus, with the concentration 300 ppb at altitude 55km. Further data processing is still needed to measure phosphine concentration deeper in the Venusian cloud deck. The ammonia in the atmosphere of Venus was tentatively detected by two atmospheric probes - Venera 8 and Pioneer Venus Multiprobe , although the detection
4836-504: The James Clerk Maxwell and ALMA radio telescopes noted the detection of phosphine in Venus's atmosphere that was not linked to any known abiotic method of production present, or possible under Venusian conditions. It is extremely hard to make, and the chemistry in the Venusian clouds should destroy the molecules before they could accumulate to the observed amounts. The phosphine was detected at heights of at least 48 km above
4960-488: The NASA Infrared Telescope Facility in 2015 did not reveal any phosphine in the Venusian atmosphere, placing an upper limit for phosphine concentration at 5 ppb—a quarter of the spectroscopic value reported in September. In 2022, no phosphine detection with an upper limit concentration of 0.8 ppb was announced for Venusian altitudes of 75–110 km. In September 2024, the preliminary analysis of
5084-507: The Pioneer Venus mission in 1978. A discovery of the second large "double-eyed" vortex at the south pole of Venus was made in the summer of 2006 by Venus Express , which came with no surprise. Images from the Akatsuki orbiter revealed something similar to jet stream winds in the low and middle cloud region, which extends from 45 to 60 km in altitude. The wind speed maximized near
Venus Life Finder - Misplaced Pages Continue
5208-470: The United States Air Force considers a vehicle to consist of the mission payload and the bus (or platform). The bus provides physical structure, thermal control, electrical power, attitude control and telemetry, tracking and commanding. JPL divides the "flight system" of a spacecraft into subsystems. These include: The physical backbone structure, which This is sometimes referred to as
5332-442: The equatorial troposphere super-rotates more slowly than the troposphere at the midlatitudes. The winds also have a strong vertical gradient. They decline deep in the troposphere with the rate of 3 m/s per km. The winds near the surface of Venus are much slower than that on Earth. They actually move at only a few kilometres per hour (generally less than 2 m/s and with an average of 0.3 to 1.0 m/s), but due to
5456-488: The interplanetary Photon spacecraft. Peter Beck , CEO of Rocket Lab commented that the Venus Life Finder represents a "real opportunity in the market for these incremental little missions in between [NASA missions]". Venus Life Finder is hoped to be the first of a series of small missions to Venus to better understand the planet. The spacecraft consists of two main components- a Photon Explorer cruise stage, and
5580-474: The meridional air motions are much slower than zonal winds. The poleward limit of the planet-wide Hadley cell on Venus is near ±60° latitudes. Here air starts to descend and returns to the equator below the clouds. This interpretation is supported by the distribution of the carbon monoxide , which is also concentrated in the vicinity of ±60° latitudes. Poleward of the Hadley cell a different pattern of circulation
5704-447: The telecommunications subsystem include radio antennas, transmitters and receivers. These may be used to communicate with ground stations on Earth, or with other spacecraft. The supply of electric power on spacecraft generally come from photovoltaic (solar) cells or from a radioisotope thermoelectric generator . Other components of the subsystem include batteries for storing power and distribution circuitry that connects components to
5828-484: The Earth's total atmosphere. The density of the air at the surface is 65 kg/m , which is 6.5% that of liquid water on Earth. The pressure found on Venus's surface is high enough that the carbon dioxide is technically no longer a gas, but a supercritical fluid . This supercritical carbon dioxide forms a kind of sea, with a 6.5% density of water, that covers the entire surface of Venus. This sea of supercritical carbon dioxide transfers heat very efficiently, buffering
5952-639: The Globe it self, and is at the same time capable of sending back the Rays that it receives from the Sun? Decisive evidence for the atmosphere of Venus was provided by Mikhail Lomonosov , based on his observation of the transit of Venus in 1761 in a small observatory near his house in Saint Petersburg , Russia . The atmosphere of Venus is composed of 96.5% carbon dioxide , 3.5% nitrogen , and traces of other gases, most notably sulfur dioxide . The amount of nitrogen in
6076-640: The Moon two years later. The first interstellar probe was Voyager 1 , launched 5 September 1977. It entered interstellar space on 25 August 2012, followed by its twin Voyager 2 on 5 November 2018. Nine other countries have successfully launched satellites using their own launch vehicles: France (1965), Japan and China (1970), the United Kingdom (1971), India (1980), Israel (1988), Iran (2009), North Korea (2012), and South Korea (2022). In spacecraft design,
6200-406: The Moon; travel through interplanetary space; flyby, orbit, or land on other planetary bodies; or enter interstellar space. Space probes send collected data to Earth. Space probes can be orbiters, landers, and rovers. Space probes can also gather materials from its target and return it to Earth. Once a probe has left the vicinity of Earth, its trajectory will likely take it along an orbit around
6324-566: The Soviet Venera 4 was the first atmospheric probe to study Venus. Mariner 4 's 1965 Mars flyby snapped the first images of its cratered surface, which the Soviets responded to a few months later with images from on its surface from Luna 9 . In 1967, America's Surveyor 3 gathered information about the Moon's surface that would prove crucial to the Apollo 11 mission that landed humans on
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#17328594177186448-519: The Sun's photochemical action on carbon dioxide , sulfur dioxide , and water vapour. Ultraviolet photons of wavelengths less than 169 nm can photodissociate carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide and monatomic oxygen . Monatomic oxygen is highly reactive; when it reacts with sulfur dioxide, a trace component of the Venusian atmosphere, the result is sulfur trioxide , which can combine with water vapour, another trace component of Venus's atmosphere, to yield sulfuric acid. Surface level humidity
6572-434: The Sun's magnetic field carried by the solar wind . This process can be understood as the field lines wrapping around an obstacle—Venus in this case. The induced magnetosphere of Venus has a bow shock , magnetosheath , magnetopause and magnetotail with the current sheet . At the subsolar point the bow shock stands 1900 km (0.3 R v , where R v is the radius of Venus) above the surface of Venus. This distance
6696-426: The Venera, Pioneer, and Magellan missions has found hydrogen sulfide (later disputed ) and sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) together in the upper atmosphere, as well as carbonyl sulfide (OCS). The first two gases react with each other, implying that something must produce them. Carbonyl sulfide is difficult to produce inorganically, but it is present in the Venusian atmosphere. However, the planet's volcanism could explain
6820-429: The Venusian atmosphere, at least near solar activity minimum. The magnetic field in the barrier reaches up to 40 nT . The magnetotail continues up to ten radii from the planet. It is the most active part of the Venusian magnetosphere. There are reconnection events and particle acceleration in the tail. The energies of electrons and ions in the magnetotail are around 100 and 1000 eV respectively. Due to
6944-522: The Venusian surface. Due to constraints on the power of the transmitter as well as limited transmission time, the data collected will be sent through a neural network to fit within the limited 125 bytes/second bandwidth allotted. Uncrewed spacecraft Uncrewed spacecraft or robotic spacecraft are spacecraft without people on board. Uncrewed spacecraft may have varying levels of autonomy from human input, such as remote control , or remote guidance. They may also be autonomous , in which they have
7068-411: The altitude of 95 km, where mesopause begins. It is the coldest part of the Venusian dayside atmosphere. In the dayside mesopause, which serves as a boundary between the mesosphere and thermosphere and is located between 95 and 120 km, temperature increases to a constant—about 300–400 K (27–127 °C)—value prevalent in the thermosphere. In contrast, the nightside Venusian thermosphere
7192-456: The atmosphere is relatively small compared to the amount of carbon dioxide, but because the atmosphere is so much thicker than that on Earth, its total nitrogen content is roughly four times higher than Earth's, even though on Earth nitrogen makes up about 78% of the atmosphere. The atmosphere contains a range of compounds in small quantities, including some based on hydrogen , such as hydrogen chloride (HCl) and hydrogen fluoride (HF). There
7316-410: The atmospheric pressure and temperature at about 50 km to 65 km above the surface of the planet are nearly the same as that of the Earth, making its upper atmosphere the most Earth-like area in the Solar System , even more so than the surface of Mars . Due to the similarity in pressure and temperature and the fact that breathable air (21% oxygen , 78% nitrogen ) is a lifting gas on Venus in
7440-480: The autofluorescence nephelometer instrument, the probe will experience a peak g-force of 60 Gs and will descend through the atmosphere without a parachute. The probe will have just five minutes in the cloud layer , between 65 km (40 mi) to 45 km (28 mi) in altitude, to perform its measurements. The probe will directly transmit its data to Earth by S-band until expected loss of signal thirty minutes after atmospheric entry, after which it will impact
7564-446: The boiling point of water, acidophiles thrive at a pH level of 3 or below, polyextremophiles can survive a varied number of extreme conditions, and many other types of extremophiles exist on Earth. The surface temperature of Venus (over 450 °C) is far beyond the extremophile range, which extends only tens of degrees beyond 100 °C. However, the lower temperature of the cloud tops means that life could plausibly exist there,
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#17328594177187688-503: The centre and upwelling in the cold polar collars. This type of circulation resembles a winter polar anticyclonic vortex on Earth, especially the one found over Antarctica . The observations in the various infrared atmospheric windows indicate that the anticyclonic circulation observed near the poles penetrates as deep as to 50 km altitude, i.e. to the base of the clouds. The polar upper troposphere and mesosphere are extremely dynamic; large bright clouds may appear and disappear over
7812-736: The collars—about 5 km higher than at the poles and low latitudes. A connection may exist between the cold collars and high-speed midlatitude jets in which winds blow as fast as 140 m/s. Such jets are a natural consequence of the Hadley-type circulation and should exist on Venus between 55 and 60° latitude. Odd structures known as polar vortices lie within the cold polar collars. They are giant hurricane -like storms four times larger than their terrestrial analogs. Each vortex has two "eyes"—the centres of rotation, which are connected by distinct S-shaped cloud structures. Such double eyed structures are also called polar dipoles . Vortices rotate with
7936-450: The combustion of the fuel can only occur due to a presence of a catalyst . This is quite advantageous due to making the rocket engine lighter and cheaper, easy to control, and more reliable. But, the downfall is that the chemical is very dangerous to manufacture, store, and transport. A bipropellant propulsion system is a rocket engine that uses a liquid propellant. This means both the oxidizer and fuel line are in liquid states. This system
8060-453: The command and data subsystem. It is often responsible for: This system is mainly responsible for the correct spacecraft's orientation in space (attitude) despite external disturbance-gravity gradient effects, magnetic-field torques, solar radiation and aerodynamic drag; in addition it may be required to reposition movable parts, such as antennas and solar arrays. Integrated sensing incorporates an image transformation algorithm to interpret
8184-558: The debate is ongoing, with volcanic lightning and sprites also under discussion. The Soviet Venera 9 and 10 orbiters obtained ambiguous optical and electromagnetic evidence of lightning. There have been attempts to observe lightning from the Venera 11, 12, 13, and 14 landers, however no lightning activity was recorded, but very low frequency (VLF) waves were detected during descent. The European Space Agency 's Venus Express in 2007 detected whistler waves which could be attributed to lightning. Their intermittent appearance suggests
8308-410: The difference in temperature between the day and night side small, even though the slow retrograde rotation of the planet causes a single solar day to last 116.5 Earth days. The surface of Venus spends 58.3 days in darkness before the sun rises again behind the clouds. The troposphere on Venus contains 99% of the atmosphere by mass. 90% of the atmosphere of Venus is within 28 km (17.5 mi) of
8432-412: The direction of the retrograde rotation of the planet. The winds quickly decrease towards the higher latitudes, eventually reaching zero at the poles. Such strong cloud-top winds cause a phenomenon known as the super-rotation of the atmosphere. In other words, these high-speed winds circle the whole planet faster than the planet itself rotates. The super-rotation on Venus is differential, which means that
8556-479: The electronics and instrument from the corrosive Venusian atmosphere and maintain acceptable temperatures. The probe contains one scientific instrument: Venus Life Finder is being developed by a team of less than thirty people, led by Sara Seager of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . The mission cost is estimate at less than 10 million US dollars, funded by Rocket Lab, MIT and undisclosed philanthropists. Peter Beck , CEO of Rocket Lab, has said that
8680-434: The entire planet, preventing optical Earth-based and orbital observation of the surface. Information about surface topography has been obtained exclusively by radar imaging . Aside from the very surface layers, the atmosphere is in a state of vigorous circulation. The upper layer of troposphere exhibits a phenomenon of super-rotation , in which the atmosphere circles the planet in just four Earth days, much faster than
8804-713: The entire sky ( astronomical survey ), and satellites which focus on selected astronomical objects or parts of the sky and beyond. Space telescopes are distinct from Earth imaging satellites , which point toward Earth for satellite imaging , applied for weather analysis , espionage , and other types of information gathering . Cargo or resupply spacecraft are robotic vehicles designed to transport supplies, such as food, propellant, and equipment, to space stations. This distinguishes them from space probes, which are primarily focused on scientific exploration. Automated cargo spacecraft have been servicing space stations since 1978, supporting missions like Salyut 6 , Salyut 7 , Mir ,
8928-445: The equator. In September 2017, JAXA scientists named this phenomenon "Venusian equatorial jet". The mesosphere of Venus extends from 65 km to 120 km in height, and the thermosphere begins at approximately 120 km, eventually reaching the upper limit of the atmosphere (exosphere) at about 220 to 350 km. The exosphere begins when the atmosphere becomes so thin that the average number of collisions per air molecule
9052-455: The fall of 1951. The first artificial satellite , Sputnik 1 , was put into a 215-by-939-kilometer (116 by 507 nmi) Earth orbit by the USSR on 4 October 1957. On 3 November 1957, the USSR orbited Sputnik 2 . Weighing 113 kilograms (249 lb), Sputnik 2 carried the first animal into orbit, the dog Laika . Since the satellite was not designed to detach from its launch vehicle 's upper stage,
9176-476: The fixed algorithm either do not result in the detection of the phosphine or detected it with much lower concentration of 1 ppb. The announcement promoted re-analysis of Pioneer Venus data which found part of chlorine and all of hydrogen sulfide spectral features are instead phosphine -related, meaning lower than thought concentration of chlorine and non-detection of hydrogen sulfide . Another re-analysis of archived infrared spectral measurements by
9300-598: The ground. Increased autonomy is important for distant probes where the light travel time prevents rapid decision and control from Earth. Newer probes such as Cassini–Huygens and the Mars Exploration Rovers are highly autonomous and use on-board computers to operate independently for extended periods of time. A space probe is a robotic spacecraft that does not orbit Earth, but instead, explores further into outer space. Space probes have different sets of scientific instruments onboard. A space probe may approach
9424-428: The high density of the atmosphere at the surface, this is still enough to transport dust and small stones across the surface, much like a slow-moving current of water. All winds on Venus are ultimately driven by convection . Hot air rises in the equatorial zone, where solar heating is concentrated and flows to the poles. Such an almost-planetwide overturning of the troposphere is called Hadley circulation . However,
9548-449: The hypothesis of microorganisms in the upper atmosphere as the agent absorbing the UV light. In 2012, the abundance and vertical distribution of these unknown ultraviolet absorbers in the Venusian atmosphere have been investigated from analysis of Venus Monitoring Camera images, but their composition is still unknown. In 2016, disulfur dioxide was identified as a possible candidate for causing
9672-521: The immediate imagery land data, perform a real-time detection and avoidance of terrain hazards that may impede safe landing, and increase the accuracy of landing at a desired site of interest using landmark localization techniques. Integrated sensing completes these tasks by relying on pre-recorded information and cameras to understand its location and determine its position and whether it is correct or needs to make any corrections (localization). The cameras are also used to detect any possible hazards whether it
9796-515: The lack of the intrinsic magnetic field on Venus, the solar wind penetrates relatively deep into the planetary exosphere and causes substantial atmosphere loss. The loss happens mainly via the magnetotail. Currently the main ion types being lost are O , H and He . The ratio of hydrogen to oxygen losses is around 2 (i.e. almost stoichiometric for water) indicating the ongoing loss of water. Venusian clouds are thick and are composed mainly (75–96%) of sulfuric acid droplets. These clouds obscure
9920-419: The long-lived singlet state ( Δ g ), which then relax and emit infrared radiation at the wavelength 1.27 μm. This radiation from the altitude range 90–100 km is often observed from the ground and spacecraft. The nightside upper mesosphere and thermosphere of Venus is also the source of non- local thermodynamic equilibrium emissions of CO 2 and nitric oxide molecules, which are responsible for
10044-475: The low temperature of the nightside thermosphere. The Venus Express probe has shown through stellar occultation that the atmospheric haze extends much further up on the night side than the day side. On the day side the cloud deck has a thickness of 20 km and extends up to about 65 km, whereas on the night side the cloud deck in the form of a thick haze reaches up to 90 km in altitude—well into mesosphere, continuing even further to 105 km as
10168-427: The most powerful form of propulsion there is. For a propulsion system to work, there is usually an oxidizer line and a fuel line. This way, the spacecraft propulsion is controlled. But in a monopropellant propulsion, there is no need for an oxidizer line and only requires the fuel line. This works due to the oxidizer being chemically bonded into the fuel molecule itself. But for the propulsion system to be controlled,
10292-433: The nightside causes adiabatic heating of the air, which forms a warm layer in the nightside mesosphere at the altitudes 90–120 km. The temperature of this layer—230 K (−43 °C)—is far higher than the typical temperature found in the nightside thermosphere—100 K (−173 °C). The air circulated from the dayside also carries oxygen atoms, which after recombination form excited molecules of oxygen in
10416-402: The only way to explore them. Telerobotics also allows exploration of regions that are vulnerable to contamination by Earth micro-organisms since spacecraft can be sterilized. Humans can not be sterilized in the same way as a spaceship, as they coexist with numerous micro-organisms, and these micro-organisms are also hard to contain within a spaceship or spacesuit. The first uncrewed space mission
10540-424: The period of about 3 days in the direction of general super-rotation of the atmosphere. The linear wind speeds are 35–50 m/s near their outer edges and zero at the poles. The temperature at the cloud-tops in each polar vortex is much higher than in the nearby polar collars, reaching 250 K (−23 °C). The conventional interpretation of the polar vortices is that they are anticyclones with downwelling in
10664-421: The planet's sidereal day of 243 days. The winds supporting super-rotation blow at a speed of 100 m/s (≈360 km/h or 220 mph) or more. Winds move at up to 60 times the speed of the planet's rotation, while Earth's fastest winds are only 10% to 20% rotation speed. On the other hand, the wind speed becomes increasingly slower as the elevation from the surface decreases, with the breeze barely reaching
10788-410: The plasma to the observed velocities. The plasma flow appears to be sufficient to maintain the nightside ionosphere at or near the observed median level of ion densities. Venus is known not to have a magnetic field . The reason for its absence is not at all clear, but it may be related to a reduced intensity of convection in the Venusian mantle . Venus only has an induced magnetosphere formed by
10912-510: The possibility that Venus lightning would be too weak to cause it. Due to the harsh conditions on the surface, little of the planet has been explored; in addition to the fact that life as currently understood may not necessarily be the same in other parts of the universe, the extent of the tenacity of life on Earth itself has not yet been shown. Creatures known as extremophiles exist on Earth, preferring extreme habitats. Thermophiles and hyperthermophiles thrive at temperatures reaching above
11036-408: The power sources. Spacecraft are often protected from temperature fluctuations with insulation. Some spacecraft use mirrors and sunshades for additional protection from solar heating. They also often need shielding from micrometeoroids and orbital debris. Spacecraft propulsion is a method that allows a spacecraft to travel through space by generating thrust to push it forward. However, there
11160-510: The presence of carbonyl sulfide. In addition, one of the early Venera probes detected large amounts of toxic chlorine just below the Venusian cloud deck. It has been proposed that microbes at this level could be soaking up ultraviolet light from the Sun as a source of energy, which could be a possible explanation for the "unknown UV absorber" seen as dark patches on UV images of the planet. The existence of this "unknown UV absorber" prompted Carl Sagan to publish an article in 1963 proposing
11284-558: The presence of water over the past billion years. However, there is no reason to suppose that Venus was an exception to the processes that formed Earth and gave it its water during its early history, possibly from the original rocks that formed the planet or later on from comets . The common view among research scientists is that water would have existed for about 600 million years on the surface before evaporating, though some such as David Grinspoon believe that up to 2 billion years could also be plausible. This longer timescale for
11408-518: The present cloud structure and geology of the surface, combined with the fact that the luminosity of the Sun has increased by 25% since around 3.8 billion years ago, it is thought that the early environment of Venus was more like that of Earth with liquid water on the surface. At some point in the evolution of Venus, a runaway greenhouse effect occurred, leading to the current greenhouse-dominated atmosphere. The timing of this transition away from Earthlike
11532-434: The production of carbon monoxide and oxygen gas by converting sulfur and sulfur dioxide into sulfuric acid, and water and sulfuric dioxide to sulfur to sustain clouds. Regardless of how frequent lightning on Venus is, it is important to study as it can be a potential hazard for spacecraft. Throughout the 1980s, it was thought that the cause of the night-side glow (" ashen light ") on Venus was lightning however, there may be
11656-536: The robotic spacecraft requires accurate knowledge of where the spacecraft is located relative to the surface (localization), what may pose as hazards from the terrain (hazard assessment), and where the spacecraft should presently be headed (hazard avoidance). Without the capability for operations for localization, hazard assessment, and avoidance, the robotic spacecraft becomes unsafe and can easily enter dangerous situations such as surface collisions, undesirable fuel consumption levels, and/or unsafe maneuvers. Components in
11780-525: The same way that helium is a lifting gas on Earth, the upper atmosphere has been proposed as a location for both exploration and colonization . Christiaan Huygens was the first to hypothesize the existence of an atmosphere on Venus. In the Book II of Cosmotheoros, published in 1698, he writes: I have often wonder’d that when I have viewed Venus at her nearest to the Earth, when she resembled an Half-moon, just beginning to have something like Horns, through
11904-484: The same way that bacteria have been found living and reproducing in clouds on Earth. Any such bacteria living in the cloud tops, however, would have to be hyper-acidophilic, due to the concentrated sulfuric acid environment. Microbes in the thick, cloudy atmosphere could be protected from solar radiation by the sulfur compounds in the air. The Venusian atmosphere has been found to be sufficiently out of equilibrium as to require further investigation. Analysis of data from
12028-424: The so far unknown UV absorption of the Venusian atmosphere. The dark patches of "unknown UV absorbers" are prominent enough to influence the weather on Venus. In 2021, it was suggested the color of "unknown UV absorber" match that of "red oil" - a known substance comprising a mixed organic carbon compounds dissolved in concentrated sulfuric acid. In September 2020, research studies led by Cardiff University using
12152-403: The solar wind through the induced magnetotail . It is speculated that the atmosphere of Venus up to around 4 billion years ago was more like that of the Earth with liquid water on the surface. A runaway greenhouse effect may have been caused by the evaporation of the surface water and subsequent rise of the levels of other greenhouse gases . Despite the harsh conditions on the surface,
12276-412: The space of a few hours. One such event was observed by Venus Express between 9 and 13 January 2007, when the south polar region became brighter by 30%. This event was probably caused by an injection of sulfur dioxide into the mesosphere, which then condensed, forming a bright haze. The two eyes in the vortices have yet to be explained. The first vortex on Venus was discovered at the north pole by
12400-533: The space stations Salyut 7 and Mir , and the International Space Station module Zarya , were capable of remote guided station-keeping and docking maneuvers with both resupply craft and new modules. Uncrewed resupply spacecraft are increasingly used for crewed space stations . The first robotic spacecraft was launched by the Soviet Union (USSR) on 22 July 1951, a suborbital flight carrying two dogs Dezik and Tsygan. Four other such flights were made through
12524-408: The spacecraft forward. This happens due to one basic principle known as Newton's Third Law . According to Newton, "to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." As the energy and heat is being released from the back of the spacecraft, gas particles are being pushed around to allow the spacecraft to propel forward. The main reason behind the usage of rocket engine today is because rockets are
12648-590: The spacecraft is a "nights-and-weekends project," and that it "gets pushed to the side all the time, but [they are] still working on it." As of February 2024, Venus Life Finder is planned to launch no earlier than 30 December 2024 by an Electron launch vehicle from Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1 on the Māhia Peninsula in New Zealand . After being delivered to low Earth orbit , the Explorer cruise stage will perform
12772-414: The spacecraft is robotic. Robotic spacecraft use telemetry to radio back to Earth acquired data and vehicle status information. Although generally referred to as "remotely controlled" or "telerobotic", the earliest orbital spacecraft – such as Sputnik 1 and Explorer 1 – did not receive control signals from Earth. Soon after these first spacecraft, command systems were developed to allow remote control from
12896-494: The speed of 2.8 m/s (≈10 km/h or 6.2 mph) on the surface. Near the poles are anticyclonic structures called polar vortices . Each vortex is double-eyed and shows a characteristic S-shaped pattern of clouds. Above there is an intermediate layer of mesosphere which separates the troposphere from the thermosphere . The thermosphere is also characterized by strong circulation, but very different in its nature—the gases heated and partially ionized by sunlight in
13020-431: The structure floating at that altitude like a dirigible . The circulation in Venus's troposphere follows the so-called cyclostrophic flow . Its windspeeds are roughly determined by the balance of the pressure gradient and centrifugal forces in almost purely zonal flow . In contrast, the circulation in the Earth's atmosphere is governed by the geostrophic balance. Venus's windspeeds can be directly measured only in
13144-445: The sunlit hemisphere migrate to the dark hemisphere where they recombine and downwell . Unlike Earth, Venus lacks a magnetic field. Its ionosphere separates the atmosphere from outer space and the solar wind . This ionized layer excludes the solar magnetic field , giving Venus a distinct magnetic environment. This is considered Venus's induced magnetosphere . Lighter gases, including water vapour, are continuously blown away by
13268-404: The surface of Venus from optical imaging, and reflect about 75% of the sunlight that falls on them. The geometric albedo , a common measure of reflectivity, is the highest of any planet in the Solar System . This high reflectivity potentially enables any probe exploring the cloud tops sufficient solar energy such that solar cells can be fitted anywhere on the craft. The density of the clouds
13392-402: The surface of Venus, and was detected primarily at mid-latitudes with none detected at the poles of Venus. Scientists note that the detection itself could be further verified beyond the use of multiple telescopes detecting the same signal, as the phosphine fingerprint described in the study could theoretically be a false signal introduced by the telescopes or by data processing. The detection
13516-409: The surface, but at the top of the troposphere the temperature and pressure reaches Earth-like levels and clouds pick up speed to 100 m/s (360 km/h). The atmospheric pressure at the surface of Venus is about 92 times that of the Earth, similar to the pressure found 900 m (3,000 ft) below the surface of the ocean. The atmosphere has a mass of 4.8 × 10 kg, about 93 times the mass of
13640-460: The surface; by comparison, 90% of the atmosphere of Earth is within 16 km (10 mi) of the surface. At a height of 50 km (31 mi) the atmospheric pressure is approximately equal to that at the surface of Earth. On the night side of Venus clouds can still be found at 80 km (50 mi) above the surface. The altitude of the troposphere most similar to Earth is near the tropopause—the boundary between troposphere and mesosphere. It
13764-443: The temperature changes between night and day (which last 56 terrestrial days). Particularly at possible higher atmospheric pressures in Venus' past might have created an even more fluid-like layer of supercritical carbon dioxide shaping Venus' landscape; altogether, it is unclear how the supercritical environment behaves and is shaped. The large amount of CO 2 in the atmosphere together with water vapour and sulfur dioxide create
13888-423: The thrust to propel the spacecraft forward. The advantage of having this kind of propulsion is that it is incredibly efficient in maintaining constant velocity, which is needed for deep-space travel. However, the amount of thrust produced is extremely low and that it needs a lot of electrical power to operate. Mechanical components often need to be moved for deployment after launch or prior to landing. In addition to
14012-649: The too brisk Light of Venus might be the occasion of this equal appearance; but when I used an Eye-glass that was smok’d for the purpose, it was still the same thing. What then, must Venus have no Sea, or do the Waters there reflect the Light more than ours do, or their Land less? or rather (which is most probable in my opinion) is not all that Light we see reflected from an Atmosphere surrounding Venus, which being thicker and more solid than that in Mars or Jupiter, hinders our seeing any thing of
14136-477: The total mass in orbit was 508.3 kilograms (1,121 lb). In a close race with the Soviets , the United States launched its first artificial satellite, Explorer 1 , into a 357-by-2,543-kilometre (193 by 1,373 nmi) orbit on 31 January 1958. Explorer I was an 205-centimetre (80.75 in) long by 15.2-centimetre (6.00 in) diameter cylinder weighing 14.0 kilograms (30.8 lb), compared to Sputnik 1,
14260-405: The upper troposphere (tropopause), between 60 and 70 km, altitude, which corresponds to the upper cloud deck. The cloud motion is usually observed in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum , where the contrast between clouds is the highest. The linear wind speeds at this level are about 100 ± 10 m/s at lower than 50° latitude. They are retrograde in the sense that they blow in
14384-531: The use of motors, many one-time movements are controlled by pyrotechnic devices. Robotic spacecraft are specifically designed system for a specific hostile environment. Due to their specification for a particular environment, it varies greatly in complexity and capabilities. While an uncrewed spacecraft is a spacecraft without personnel or crew and is operated by automatic (proceeds with an action without human intervention) or remote control (with human intervention). The term 'uncrewed spacecraft' does not imply that
14508-467: The very high D–H ratio measured in the Venusian atmosphere. The ratio is about 0.015–0.025, which is 100–150 times higher than the terrestrial value of 1.6 × 10 . According to some measurements, in the upper atmosphere of Venus D/H ratio is 1.5 higher than in the bulk atmosphere. In 2020, there was considerable discussion regarding whether phosphine (PH 3 ) might be present in trace amounts in Venus's atmosphere. This would be noteworthy as phosphine
14632-437: Was Sputnik , launched October 4, 1957 to orbit the Earth. Nearly all satellites , landers and rovers are robotic spacecraft. Not every uncrewed spacecraft is a robotic spacecraft; for example, a reflector ball is a non-robotic uncrewed spacecraft. Space missions where other animals but no humans are on-board are called uncrewed missions. Many habitable spacecraft also have varying levels of robotic features. For example,
14756-507: Was chosen to accommodate the electronics and the focal length of the nephelometer.The probe outer mould line is a scaled-down version of the Deep Space 2 probe . Like the Deep Space 2 probe, the probe carries no parachute nor does it eject its heat shield. The nephelometer, flight computer, and radio are housed in a spherical titanium pressure vessel encased within a layer of insulation to protect
14880-506: Was later suggested to be a false positive or true signal with much over-estimated amplitude, compatible with 1 ppb concentration of phosphine. The re-analysis of ALMA dataset in April 2021 have recovered the 20 ppb phosphine signal, with signal-to-noise ratio of 5.4, and by August 2021 it was confirmed the suspected contamination by sulfur dioxide was contributing only 10% to the tentative signal in phosphine spectral line band. Through studies of
15004-444: Was measured in 2007 near the solar activity minimum. Near the solar activity maximum it can be several times further from the planet. The magnetopause is located at the altitude of 300 km. The upper boundary of the ionosphere (ionopause) is near 250 km. Between the magnetopause and ionopause there exists a magnetic barrier—a local enhancement of the magnetic field, which prevents the solar plasma from penetrating deeper into
15128-512: Was previously used between 2008 and 2015. Solar System → Local Interstellar Cloud → Local Bubble → Gould Belt → Orion Arm → Milky Way → Milky Way subgroup → Local Group → Local Sheet → Virgo Supercluster → Laniakea Supercluster → Local Hole → Observable universe → Universe Each arrow ( → ) may be read as "within" or "part of". Atmosphere of Venus#Clouds The atmosphere of Venus
15252-399: Was rejected that time due to poorly characterized sensors behavior in Venusian environment and ammonia believed to be chemically unstable in the strongly oxidizing atmosphere of Venus. The atmosphere is divided into a number of sections depending on altitude. The densest part of the atmosphere, the troposphere , begins at the surface and extends upwards to 65 km. The winds are slow near
15376-495: Was the Luna E-1 No.1 , launched on 23 September 1958. The goal of a lunar probe repeatedly failed until 4 January 1959 when Luna 1 orbited around the Moon and then the Sun. The success of these early missions began a race between the US and the USSR to outdo each other with increasingly ambitious probes. Mariner 2 was the first probe to study another planet, revealing Venus' extremely hot temperature to scientists in 1962, while
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