Current proposed missions to the planet Venus

[Flyaway]

This article covers all the currently proposed missions to the planet Venus.

Venus is Earth’s evil twin — and space agencies can no longer resist its pull

Garvin is not the only scientist preparing such a daring mission. Nearly every space agency around the globe is currently sketching a proposal to explore our long-neglected neighbour (see 'The decade of Venus'). The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be first to lift off when it launches an orbiter to Venus in 2023. The United States could follow close behind. Garvin and his colleagues are one of a handful of groups that will soon propose missions to NASA that, if selected, would take off in 2025. The European Space Agency (ESA) is currently considering a proposal to send an orbiter to Venus in 2032. And the Russian space agency Roscosmos is working in collaboration with the United States to send a daring mission to the planet any time from 2026 to 2033, which would include an orbiter, a lander that would send back short-term readings and a research station that would survive for much longer.

 

[tequilashooter]

Russia embarks on project of first Venus mission since Soviet era

According to Russian Academy of Sciences’ Space Research Institute head Lev Zelyony, the main contours of the Russian Venus program will take shape during design planning

tass.com

MOSCOW, March 4. / TASS /. The design of the Venera-D interplanetary automatic station begins in the Russian Federation, now contracts are being concluded with the contractors. This was reported to TASS by the scientific director of the Institute of Space Research (IKI) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Lev Zeleny.

"The technical design of the project is starting. An important meeting of the leadership of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Roscosmos took place, we made decisions, in particular, on the Venus program," Zeleny said.

According to the academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the main contours of the Russian Venus program will be clarified in the course of the ongoing design. The first stage in the exploration of the planet will be the dispatch of the automatic interplanetary station "Venera-D". At the moment, contracts are being concluded with the performers of the work - NPO im. S. A. Lavochkina (part of Roscosmos) and IKI RAS. The design, Zeleny suggested, would take two years.

“We hope that in 2029 the first spacecraft will fly to Venus,” said the scientific director of the institute.

 

[Dilandu]

The major problem with Venus, is that missions here is far less cost-efficient than missions on Mars. On Mars, the probe of given cost could work for years (Earth years). On Venus? A few days at best; hours most likely.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Unless you could build something like the nuclear powered surface walkers from the Venus Prime universe.

 

[Dilandu]

Unless you could build something like the nuclear powered surface walkers from the Venus Prime universe.

I'm afraid, this would make the problem worse. Down on Venus surface, it's 460+ с. Very few electronics could survive such temperature for any prolonged time - and since atmosphere is extremely hot, it's unclear to where the excess heat could be channeled. So basically any station on Venus surface could exist only until it overheat to the failure point of equipment.

There were some ideas of extremely simple, non-electronic probes, that could survive on surface for long, but their scientific value is doubtful.

 

[tequilashooter]

The article further states to just collect Venus soil, so I am guessing that the heat might have been accounted for?

 

[Dilandu]

The article further states to just collect Venus soil, so I am guessing that the heat might have been accounted for?

Frankly, it would be monumental mission. Venus have only a bit less gravity than Earth; so even for a very small soil sample we need to put at least 2,5-3 ton rocket on Venus just to shoot the samples back in space.

The smallest space booster ever - Japanese SS-520-5 - was about 2,6 metric tons, and was capable of launching 4 kg on LEO. Technically, it's doable to land something like that on Venus in pressurized container , load with samples and shoot back in space. But... the Venus atmosphere is very dense. The aerodynamic resistance for surface launch would be enormous, and the rocket must somehow survive the pressure...

The only way I saw it possible, is to land the complex of encapsulated return rocket in container, high-pressure helium tanks, and a big bunch of mylar balloons. After collecting samples, the station would start to fill the balloons with helium from the tanks, thus creating positive buoyancy and floating up in Venus atmosphere. The balloons must be linked into some kind of complex chain, interconnected with valves (to prevent bursting), so when outside pressure started to decrease with altitude, the excess helium would overflow into next balloons.

When the whole complex float to the upper level of clouds - where the atmosphere pressure and temperature are comparable with Earth sea level - the container would opens, and return rocket would be launched. But here another problem: the return capsule would be very small, about 4-5 kg, so it would be impossible to fit much of propulsion into it. I see two possible scenarios:

* Capsule would dock with Earth return stage left on Venus orbit, the samples would be loaded into re-entry vehicle, and the whole setup would be boosted to Earth using the return stage engines.

* Capsule would use an ultra-small solar sail to accelerate itself toward Earth, and on Earth orbit it would be gathered by specific space mission (which would return the samples to Earth).

 

[Sherman Tank]

The major problem with Venus, is that missions here is far less cost-efficient than missions on Mars. On Mars, the probe of given cost could work for years (Earth years). On Venus? A few days at best; hours most likely.

"Cost-efficient" is a relative term, though. For example: one of the least cost-efficient ways to study Venus is with a mission to Mars.

 

[RanulfC]

The article further states to just collect Venus soil, so I am guessing that the heat might have been accounted for?

Frankly, it would be monumental mission. Venus have only a bit less gravity than Earth; so even for a very small soil sample we need to put at least 2,5-3 ton rocket on Venus just to shoot the samples back in space.

The smallest space booster ever - Japanese SS-520-5 - was about 2,6 metric tons, and was capable of launching 4 kg on LEO. Technically, it's doable to land something like that on Venus in pressurized container , load with samples and shoot back in space. But... the Venus atmosphere is very dense. The aerodynamic resistance for surface launch would be enormous, and the rocket must somehow survive the pressure...

The only way I saw it possible, is to land the complex of encapsulated return rocket in container, high-pressure helium tanks, and a big bunch of mylar balloons. After collecting samples, the station would start to fill the balloons with helium from the tanks, thus creating positive buoyancy and floating up in Venus atmosphere. The balloons must be linked into some kind of complex chain, interconnected with valves (to prevent bursting), so when outside pressure started to decrease with altitude, the excess helium would overflow into next balloons.

When the whole complex float to the upper level of clouds - where the atmosphere pressure and temperature are comparable with Earth sea level - the container would opens, and return rocket would be launched. But here another problem: the return capsule would be very small, about 4-5 kg, so it would be impossible to fit much of propulsion into it. I see two possible scenarios:

* Capsule would dock with Earth return stage left on Venus orbit, the samples would be loaded into re-entry vehicle, and the whole setup would be boosted to Earth using the return stage engines.

* Capsule would use an ultra-small solar sail to accelerate itself toward Earth, and on Earth orbit it would be gathered by specific space mission (which would return the samples to Earth).

Actually a similar study concept in the US used an encapsulated sample return rocket lofted off the surface by what amounted to a 'steam' balloon, (chilled initially by the liquid helium supply IIRC) and that concept kept coming back over time as a means to have a 'reusable' surface lander that returned to high altitude to cool off between runs. The study had the return sample snatched on the fly (literally a flyby) from the main probe bus on what was technically a sub-orbital trajectory.

Longer term you can use a balloon to keep the main probe bus above most of the issues and have a 'shuttle' probe going back and forth to the surface. On-board lab to analyze the samples and not worry about getting the sample back to Earth.

Be interesting to see if this actually goes anywhere.

Randy

 

[Dilandu]

Actually a similar study concept in the US used an encapsulated sample return rocket lofted off the surface by what amounted to a 'steam' balloon, (chilled initially by the liquid helium supply IIRC) and that concept kept coming back over time as a means to have a 'reusable' surface lander that returned to high altitude to cool off between runs. The study had the return sample snatched on the fly (literally a flyby) from the main probe bus on what was technically a sub-orbital trajectory.

Quite interesting proposal! Steam would be perfectly workable to float balloon out of lower Venus atmosphere, yes.

 

[tequilashooter]

Российские ученые предложили послать вертолет на Венеру - Газета.Ru | Новости

Ученые Московского авиационного института предлагают отправить беспилотный вертолет на Венеру для исследования ее поверхности и вулканов.

m.gazeta.ru

Russian scientists have proposed sending a helicopter to Venus.

Scientists of The Moscow Aviation Institute offers to send an unmanned helicopter to Venus to research its surface and volcanoes.

In the spring, the Korolyov's Cosmonautics Readings opened in Moscow. The day before, a collection of abstracts based on the results of the readings was published.

"As a result of the development of aviation technologies, unmanned aerial vehicles are becoming more widely used. Currently, their application is being considered as part of the lander of interplanetary stations for research missions on the surface and inside the calderas of Venus ' volcanoes," one of the theses says.

The helicopter will have the shape of a sphere, the materials say.

Researchers note that the main problem in the development of Venus is the high temperature (467°C). In this regard, in the helicopter, the outer titanium layer with a diameter of 700 mm will have a wall thickness of 2.5 mm and is covered with screen-vacuum insulation-a material that is used for a large temperature difference between the insulated system and the environment.

In addition, it is planned to use aerogel, which has the lowest thermal conductivity.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Checking Up On Earth’s Sister Planet: NASA’s Upcoming Venus Missions

Even as we bask in the knowledge that our neighboring planet Mars is currently home to a multitude of still functional landers, a triplet of rovers and with an ever-growing satellite network as wel…

hackaday.com

 

[Nik]

Regarding electronics, I've seen details of some 'solid-state' thermionic valves designed for high-radiation environments that would have no problem with Venusian surface conditions. Snag is their integration and associated tech are a couple of decades short of maturity required for a useful lander...

 

[tequilashooter]

Venera-D and now a proposed flight drone on a hell hole surface I wish them luck instead of going the easy route with Mars. Pressure and temperature wise I hope for better material for suits and rockets.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Regarding electronics, I've seen details of some 'solid-state' thermionic valves designed for high-radiation environments that would have no problem with Venusian surface conditions. Snag is their integration and associated tech are a couple of decades short of maturity required for a useful lander...

Indeed, and there have been even more exotic solutions proposed, such as this one:

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/automaton-rover-for-extreme-environments-aree.29738/

 

[blackstar]

NASA currently has programs for developing high temperature electronics as well as low temperature electronics. They go by the name HotTech and ColdTech. You could google search for more information.

The current approach toward putting anything down on Venus is to keep the electronics from heating up as long as possible. The next approach is developing systems that can withstand heat for some time (but they won't last very long). That's a difficult thing to do, and a lot more research has to go into it. There are some exotic proposals for long-term operations on the surface, but don't expect to see anything like that for a century or more.

 

[tequilashooter]

Well I currently have no idea where they stand in material temperature technology but I would say it is way above average(comparing Avangard to to HTV-2 would be mean because NASA or other US organizations might have improved in material temperature technology since that project for example) in comparison to other countries like material they gave no value( no way for them to test its max temperature range in the lab) to other than withstanding kinetic heat above 4000 Celsius which might give them more ideas on designing new nuclear weapons, etc.