The Venus In Situ Explorer (VISE) has been a lander mission concept proposed since 2003 by the

Planetary Science Decadal Survey The Planetary Science Decadal Survey is a publication of the United States National Research Council produced for NASA and other United States Government Agencies such as the National Science Foundation.National Academy of Sciences, National Acade ...

as a

space probe A space probe is an artificial satellite that travels through space to collect scientific data. A space probe may orbit Earth; approach the Moon; travel through interplanetary space; flyby, orbit, or land or fly on other planetary bodies; or ...

designed to answer fundamental scientific questions by landing and performing experiments on

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

. The VISE concept has been identified as a desired theme for mission proposals over several rounds of

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

's competitive mission selections, including those to select the 2nd, 3rd and 4th New Frontiers missions. However, all VISE-themed proposals have thus far been unsuccessful.

Overview

The study of Venus is essential to understanding the evolution of

terrestrial planets A terrestrial planet, telluric planet, or rocky planet, is a planet that is composed primarily of silicate rocks or metals. Within the Solar System, the terrestrial planets accepted by the IAU are the inner planets closest to the Sun: Mercury, ...

, understanding how Venus and Earth diverged, and comprehending when and if planets develop habitable environments. It may use a new atmospheric entry mechanism, a mechanically deployed aerodynamic decelerator, known as the Adaptive Deployable Entry and Placement Technology (ADEPT).

Unsuccessful proposals

The VISE concept was identified in 2003 as one of four eligible themes for candidate missions for

New Frontiers program The New Frontiers program is a series of space exploration missions being conducted by NASA with the purpose of furthering the understanding of the Solar System. The program selects medium-class missions which can provide high science returns. ...

Mission 2. No VISE-themed proposals reached the finalist stage. VISE was again an eligible theme, this time one of eight, in the 2009 competition to select New Frontiers Mission 3. One VISE-themed proposal, Surface and Atmosphere Geochemical Explorer or SAGE, was an unsuccessful finalist. VISE was one of six eligible themes for candidate missions for New Frontiers Mission 4 to be launched in 2024. Of the 12 proposals submitted and reviewed by NASA, three were associated with this theme: two lander proposals, Venus In situ Composition Investigations (VICI) and Venus In Situ Atmospheric and Geochemical Explorer (VISAGE); and the Venus Origins Explorer (VOX), an orbiter whose proponents claimed would achieve similar scientific outcomes. None of the three advanced to the final shortlist.

References

External links

* NAS
Atmospheric Flight on Venus
Landis, Geoffrey A., Colozza, Anthony, and LaMarre, Christopher M., International Astronautical Federation Congress 2002, paper IAC-02-Q.4.2.03, AIAA-2002-0819, AIAA0, No. 5 {{Planetary Missions Program Office, New Frontiers=y Missions to Venus Extraterrestrial aircraft Extraterrestrial atmosphere entry New Frontiers program proposals

Overview

Unsuccessful proposals

See also

References

External links