VEVA Discovery mission to Venus: exploration of volcanoes and atmosphere
Abstract
Venus Exploration of Volcanoes and Atmosphere (VEVA) is a potential Discovery mission. It will provide a multidisciplinary investigation of the atmosphere and surface of Venus by returning the first-ever aerial photography of the surface and definitive, in situ determination of its atmospheric composition in the lower scale height. VEVA involves delivering an entry vehicle to Venus housing a payload consisting of an instrumented atmospheric sonde and a balloon-gondola system. After entry, the atmospheric sonde is released to fall to the surface, and the balloon package inflates, which arrests its descent at a 60-km float height. The balloon carries an instrumented gondola with battery power for 7 days as it circles Venus. The gondola carries four small imaging sondes for release and descent to the surface at different times during the 7-day mission. Data from the sondes are radioed to the gondola for relay to Earth.
- Publication:
-
Acta Astronautica
- Pub Date:
- January 2003
- DOI:
- 10.1016/S0094-5765(02)00151-0
- Bibcode:
- 2003AcAau..52..151K