Next Summer , NASA will find fault two military mission for itsDiscovery programout of the four that have been pre - take . Among them , there is VERITAS , whose finish is to break the inner working of Venus and perhaps explain why this rocky world is so different from Earth .
VERITAS place upright for Venus Emissivity , Radio Science , InSAR , Topography & Spectroscopy . The spacecraft would canvas the Earth’s surface of the major planet , not an easy task when impenetrable clouds get over its entirety . To battle this , VERITAS would be fit with a microwave radar system and infrared mass spectrometer .
" Venus is like this cosmic giving of an accident , " say Suzanne Smrekar , primary investigator of VERITAS at NASA ’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory , in astatement . " You have these two planetary bodies – Earth and Venus – that started out closely the same but have blend down two completely unlike evolutionary way of life , but we do n’t know why . "
A key aspect to enquire is the geological properties of Venus . scientist want to know if the major planet is still combat-ready , if it has volcano , and if it is showing evidence of early - tectonic activity . plate tectonics are crucial to Earth and peradventure to the emergence of life on our major planet . Venus could be an excellent model for the primordial Earth .
" fix whether Venus is actively undergo volcanic action and understand what mental process is drive it is one of the really exciting questions I ’d love to see answered , " pronounce planetary scientist Jennifer Whitten , a VERITAS science squad member at Tulane University in New Orleans .
The Venus mission is not just to be used as a comparison with our major planet . Scientists are also discovering more ground - sized satellite beyond the solar organisation . While an Earth - twin is yet to be found , we have notice an exoplanet thatmight be Venus - corresponding . Understanding our planetary neighbor could guide to a greater understanding of bouldered exoplanets as a whole .
" To bring out the mysteries of Venus we have to face under the hoodlum at Venus ' Interior Department ; it is the engine for global geologic and atmospherical phylogeny , " tell Smrekar . " Are Venus and Earth fundamentally unparalleled domain ? Or are the differences between these ' twins ' only cosmetic ? respond this question is key to understanding what makes other bouldered planets inhabitable and , at long last , emerge with lifespan . "
NASA will make up one’s mind on the missions in Summer 2021 . VERITAS ' worthy competition includes another mission to Venus , one to take the volcanos of Jupiter ’s Io , andTRIDENT , which will analyze Neptune ’s lunar month Triton . If take , VERITAS will fly in 2026 .
