Venus In Situ Atmospheric and Geochemical Explorer

Names	VISAGE
Mission type	Reconnaissance
Operator	NASA
Mission duration	cruise: 12 months ; lander: 4.5 hours
Venus lander
	New Frontiers program ← OSIRIS-REx

Last updated July 19, 2019

Venus In Situ Atmospheric and Geochemical Explorer (VISAGE) is a proposed Venus lander mission that would perform atmospheric and surface science investigations.

Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. It has the longest rotation period of any planet in the Solar System and rotates in the opposite direction to most other planets. It does not have any natural satellites. It is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. It is the second-brightest natural object in the night sky after the Moon, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6 – bright enough to cast shadows at night and, rarely, visible to the naked eye in broad daylight. Orbiting within Earth's orbit, Venus is an inferior planet and never appears to venture far from the Sun; its maximum angular distance from the Sun (elongation) is 47.8°.

Overview

If selected for development, VISAGE would have launched in December 2024 with a targeted flyby of Venus in May 2025, and Venus arrival in December 2025.^[1] A carrier spacecraft would deploy the lander five days before it flew by Venus. The atmosphere of Venus at the surface has an average temperature of 450 °C and is highly acidic and corrosive, which severely limits the time a lander can function. The VISAGE lander would function autonomously while descending (1 hour) and would operate on the surface for additional 3.5 hours, and it would transmit its acquired data to the nearby carrier module for relay to Earth.^[3]^[1]

Science investigations

During its parachute descent, the VISAGE lander would analyse atmospheric noble gases and light stable isotopes inventory, as well as reactive and trace gases, and measure the atmospheric structure profile. It would also image the surface starting from an altitude of 15 km (9.3 mi) and acquire panoramic images of the landing site.

The noble gases make up a group of chemical elements with similar properties; under standard conditions, they are all odorless, colorless, monatomic gases with very low chemical reactivity. The six noble gases that occur naturally are helium (He), neon (Ne), argon (Ar), krypton (Kr), xenon (Xe), and the radioactive radon (Rn). Oganesson (Og) is variously predicted to be a noble gas as well or to break the trend due to relativistic effects; its chemistry has not yet been investigated.

The VISAGE lander would drill on the shallow subsurface and samples would be brought on board to measure the mineralogy and elemental composition.^[3]

Goals

The proposed mission goals are:^[1]

to measure noble gases to test models of the origin and evolution of Venus, and measure sulfur compounds and trace gas profiles to constrain atmospheric cycles, surface-atmosphere interactions, and climate models.
to understand whether Venus was ever like Earth: VISAGE would measure surface and subsurface composition, determine surface rock type, mineralogy, and texture to understand geochemical processes, weathering, and aeolian processes.
to understand clues about exoplanets.

Aeolian processes Processes due to wind activity

Aeolian processes, also spelled eolian or æolian, pertain to wind activity in the study of geology and weather and specifically to the wind's ability to shape the surface of the Earth. Winds may erode, transport, and deposit materials and are effective agents in regions with sparse vegetation, a lack of soil moisture and a large supply of unconsolidated sediments. Although water is a much more powerful eroding force than wind, aeolian processes are important in arid environments such as deserts.

Payload

The proposed lander payload comprises five instruments:^[1] the Atmospheric Structure Investigation including Doppler Wind measurements, a Neutral Mass Spectrometer, an Imaging System, an X-ray Fluorescence experiment, and a Visible Near-Infrared Spectrometer. The total surface science data return is expected to be ~1.4 GBits.^[1]

Related Research Articles

Observations of the planet Venus include those in antiquity, telescopic observations, and from visiting spacecraft. Spacecraft have performed various flybys, orbits, and landings on Venus, including balloon probes that floated in the atmosphere of Venus. Study of the planet is aided by its relatively close proximity to the Earth, compared to other planets, but the surface of Venus is obscured by an atmosphere opaque to visible light.

Venera-D proposed Russian space probe to Venus

Venera-D is a proposed Russian space mission to Venus that would include an orbiter and a lander to be launched in 2026 or 2031. The orbiter's prime objective is to perform radar remote-sensing observations with the use of a powerful radar. A lander, based on the Venera design, is also planned, capable of operating for a long duration on the planet's surface.

The Venus In Situ Explorer (VISE) has been a lander mission concept proposed since 2003 by the Planetary Science Decadal Survey as a space probe designed to answer fundamental scientific questions by landing and performing experiments on Venus.

Hayabusa Mk2 was a proposed Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) space mission aimed at visiting a small primitive asteroid and returning a sample to Earth for laboratory analysis. It was intended to be the follow-on mission to JAXA's Hayabusa mission, as well as the Hayabusa 2 mission. The latest proposal for Hayabusa Mk2 stated its target to be the dormant comet 4015 Wilson–Harrington, with a launch of the probe in 2018. From 2007 to 2010, it was also considered as a joint JAXA-ESA mission under the name Marco Polo. The in-situ investigation and sample analysis would allow scientists to improve our knowledge of the physical and chemical properties of a small Near-Earth Object (NEO) which is thought to have kept the original composition of the solar nebula in which planet formed. Thus, it would provide some constraints to the models of planet formation and some information on how life may have been brought to Earth. Information on the physical structure will help defining efficient mitigation strategies against a potential threatening object.

Journey to Enceladus and Titan (JET) is an astrobiology mission concept to assess the habitability potential of Enceladus and Titan, moons of Saturn.

Shukrayaan-1 is a proposed orbiter to Venus by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to study the surface and atmosphere of Venus.

OKEANOS is a proposed mission concept to Trojan asteroids, which share Jupiter's orbit, using a hybrid solar sail for propulsion; the sail is covered with thin solar panels to power an ion engine. In-situ analysis of the collected samples would be performed by either direct contact or using a lander carrying a high-resolution mass spectrometer. A sample-return to Earth is an option under study.

VERITAS (spacecraft) Proposed spacecraft mission to Venus

VERITAS is a proposed mission concept by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to map with high resolution the surface of planet Venus. The combination of surface topography and image data would provide knowledge of Venus' tectonic and impact history, the timing and mechanisms of volcanic resurfacing, and the mantle processes responsible for them.

DAVINCI is a proposed mission concept for an atmospheric probe to Venus. It lost out to Psyche and Lucy in the 2015 round of proposals for NASA's Discovery Program. It will be proposed again on 1 July 2019.

The ExoMars Kazachok is a planned robotic Mars lander led by the Roscosmos, part of the ExoMars 2020 mission by the Roscosmos and the European Space Agency. Kazachok translates as "Little Cossack", and is also the name of a Russian folk dance.

SPRITE was a proposed Saturn atmospheric probe mission concept. SPRITE is a design for an atmospheric entry probe that would travel to Saturn from Earth on its own cruise stage, then enter the atmosphere of Saturn, and descend taking measurements in situ.

Venus In situ Composition Investigations (VICI) is a concept lander mission to Venus in order to answer long-standing questions about its origins and evolution, and provide new insights needed to understand terrestrial planet formation, evolution, and habitability.

Venus Origins Explorer (VOX) is a concept orbiter mission to Venus.

The Enceladus Icy Jet Analyzer (ENIJA) is a time-of-flight mass spectrometer developed to search for prebiotic molecules like amino acids and biosignatures in the plumes of Saturn's moon Enceladus.

EnVision is a proposed orbital mission to Venus that would perform high-resolution radar mapping and atmospheric studies. The mission would help scientists understand the relationships between its geological activity and the atmosphere, and it would investigate why Venus and Earth took such different evolutionary paths. The mission is studied in collaboration with NASA, with the potential sharing of responsibilities currently under assessment.

Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package Scientific instrument of the InSight Mars lander

The Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP³) is a science instrument onboard the InSight lander that features a self-penetrating probe to determine how heat flows inside Mars. InSight landed on Mars on 26 November 2018. In March 2019, it successfully burrowed a short distance into Mars subsurface, but encountered resistance.

Mars Multispectral Imager for Subsurface Studies (MA-MISS) is a miniaturized imaging spectrometer designed to provide imaging and spectra by reflectance in the near-infrared (NIR) wavelength region and determine the mineral composition and stratigraphy. The instrument is part of the science payload onboard the European Rosalind Franklin rover, tasked to search for biosignatures, and scheduled to land on Mars in 2021. MA-MISS is essentially inside a drill on the Rover, and will take measurements of the sub-surface directly.

Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery (NOMAD) is a 3-channel spectrometer on board the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) launched to Mars orbit on 14 March 2016.

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 The New Frontiers Venus In Situ Atmospheric and Geochemical Explorer (VISAGE) Mission Proposal. (PDF) L.W. Esposito, D.H. Atkinson, K.H. Baines, A. Allwood, F. Altieri, S. Atreya, M. Bullock, A. Colaprete, M. Darrach, J. Day, M. Dyar, B. Ehlmann, K. Farley, J. Filiberto, D. Grinspoon, J. Head, J. Helbert, S. Madzunkov, G. Piccioni, W. Possel, M. Ravine, A. Treiman, Y. Yung, K. Zahnle. EPSC Abstracts. Vol. 11, EPSC2017-275-1, 2017. European Planetary Science Congress 2017.
↑ NASA's New Frontier Mission Will Search For Alien Life Or Reveal The Solar System's History. Elana Glowatz, IB Times. 20 December 2017.
1 2 Venus In Situ Atmospheric and Geochemical Explorer (VISAGE): A Proposed New Frontiers Mission. (PDF) Esposito, L. W. Lunar and Planetary Science XLVIII (2017)

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[VISAGE_EPSC2017-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 The New Frontiers Venus In Situ Atmospheric and Geochemical Explorer (VISAGE) Mission Proposal. (PDF) L.W. Esposito, D.H. Atkinson, K.H. Baines, A. Allwood, F. Altieri, S. Atreya, M. Bullock, A. Colaprete, M. Darrach, J. Day, M. Dyar, B. Ehlmann, K. Farley, J. Filiberto, D. Grinspoon, J. Head, J. Helbert, S. Madzunkov, G. Piccioni, W. Possel, M. Ravine, A. Treiman, Y. Yung, K. Zahnle. EPSC Abstracts. Vol. 11, EPSC2017-275-1, 2017. European Planetary Science Congress 2017.

[ibtimes-2] NASA's New Frontier Mission Will Search For Alien Life Or Reveal The Solar System's History. Elana Glowatz, IB Times. 20 December 2017.

[VISAGE_2017-3] 1 2 Venus In Situ Atmospheric and Geochemical Explorer (VISAGE): A Proposed New Frontiers Mission. (PDF) Esposito, L. W. Lunar and Planetary Science XLVIII (2017)