Why no Venus missions since Verena in the 70's ?

JupiterKid

Venus is almost certainly still active geologically - there is some (admittedly shaky) evidence for a major volcanic eruption on the planet in the early 1980s. That alone would be a good reason to explore Venus in more depth.

the_monkey

Deleted User wrote: »

I remember, as an annoying 10 year old, having an argument with my teacher. He was insisting that life could only exist on an earth like planet while I was trying to get a point across that only earth like life would need an earth like planet.

There is nothing to say that life "but not as we know it" can not evolve in other environments (but Venus would be a radical shift from anything that we could imagine, unless they are Horta)

Water is a wonderful compound though, its chemistry allows for a lot of interactions that other "similar" molecules don't allow

Europa is a good prospect for simple life .. that would be a nice mission

nokia69

the_monkey wrote: »

Europa is a good prospect for simple life .. that would be a nice mission

http://www.wired.com/2015/02/white-house-wants-go-europa/

buried inside the $18.5 billion budget request for NASA was an interesting tidbit: $30 million for a mission to the Jovian moon Europa, every space nerd’s favorite target in the search for extraterrestrial life.

the_monkey

That's an exciting mission - pity it's doubtful a lander will be included ..

irishgeo

the_monkey wrote: »

That's an exciting mission - pity it's doubtful a lander will be included ..

werent they looking at doing a lander that could drill through the ice?

nokia69

irishgeo wrote: »

werent they looking at doing a lander that could drill through the ice?

there was talk of it, the SLS would be big enough for it

the ESA are also planning a probe but not a lander

the_monkey

I wonder will they find great big squids down there ! :P

irishgeo

2020 for a visit to europa.

http://www.astrobio.net/news-exclusive/dual-drill-designed-for-europas-ice/

namloc1980

irishgeo wrote: »

2020 for a visit to europa.

http://www.astrobio.net/news-exclusive/dual-drill-designed-for-europas-ice/

That story is from 2010. There is no lander planned for Europa. The ESA JUICE mission is slated to launch in 2022 and will arrive at Jupiter in 2030. The proposed NASA mission would launch some time in mid to late 2020's, arriving early 2030's. It won't include a lander due to cost and technical unknowns. Realistically a Europan lander is probably unlikely until the 2040's at the earliest.

JupiterKid

The Russians are planning a mission called Venera D to both land on and orbit Venus. It's scheduled to launch in the early 2020s.

littlemac1980

JupiterKid wrote: »

The Russians are planning a mission called Venera D to both land on and orbit Venus. It's scheduled to launch in the early 2020s.

Go on the Ruskies! :-)

_Tombstone_

Hmmzis wrote: »

There was Venus Express flown and run by ESA. Before that there was another mission that maped the whole planet with radar (Magellan). Also, a good few of the other probes we have out there have made flybys (Messenger, Cassini).

The Last Days of MESSENGER