ESA Venus orbiter EnVision
ESA Venus orbiter EnVision
On 25 January 2023, the European Space Agency (ESA) officially included the Venus mission EnVision, which had been selected two years earlier, in its science programme. A European industrial partner will be selected to build the spacecraft before the end of 2024. The launch is scheduled for 2031. Various instruments will study Venus from the core through the mantle and crust to the high atmosphere, including a suite of three spectrometers: VenSpec-U will measure the upper layers of the gas envelope, VenSpec-H will measure the deep layers of the atmosphere and VenSpec-M will map the mineralogy of Venus' surface, which is permanently covered by clouds (artist's impression). DLR is scientifically responsible for these experiments and is contributing the VenSpec-M instrument to the mission.
Credit:
ESA/VR2Planets/Damia Bouic