Future Venus Missions |
Future Venus Missions |
Jul 1 2005, 01:30 AM
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#1
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Solar System Cartographer Group: Members Posts: 10189 Joined: 5-April 05 From: Canada Member No.: 227 |
Oh well, might as well start that new topic since it's already well advanced in the Juno area...
My perspective on landers is as follows. All the landers we've had so far were dropped blind onto an essentially unknown surface. Any future landers can be targeted for specific terrains. It really is not true that we have had representative landings. Even a descent image or two, a panoramic photo plus a bit of surface composition, from a simple Venera-class lander just updated a bit, would be useful if we could put several down at well chosen targets. My choices would be: Examples of the main plains units (smooth, fractured, ridged) tesserae high elevation radar-bright tesserae large fresh lava flow unit ('fluctus') crater dark parabola crater ejecta outflow unit dunes area. And I have always assumed, rightly or wrongly, that it would be relatively easy to put these down, so they ought to be fairly inexpensive as planetary landers go. Phil -------------------- ... because the Solar System ain't gonna map itself.
Also to be found posting similar content on https://mastodon.social/@PhilStooke Maps for download (free PD: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...Cartography.pdf NOTE: everything created by me which I post on UMSF is considered to be in the public domain (NOT CC, public domain) |
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Nov 20 2019, 06:15 PM
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#2
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Member Group: Members Posts: 214 Joined: 30-December 05 Member No.: 628 |
https://www.space.com/possible-nasa-venus-f...ip-mission.html
This article discusses the possibility of a flagship-class mission to Venus sometime after 2023. One may argue that recent Venus proposals have failed because they are too cautious, so perhaps a multifaceted approach on the scale of Cassini would stand a better chance of success. Mentioned are multiple orbiters, long and short-term landers, and a balloon-based aerial platform with, (sic) a seismometer. Despite its ambitious nature, the proposal strategy seeks to be cheap relative to other flagship-class contenders. I guess that means we'll have to wait a few more decades for a sample return. , |
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Nov 21 2019, 04:05 AM
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#3
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2530 Joined: 20-April 05 Member No.: 321 |
Interesting timing, given that three Discovery proposals aimed at Venus are now being evaluated with an announcement of selection for Step 1 targeted for January 2020, only weeks from now. Any of those three would satisfy the flagship aims partially, so the proposal of a flagship mission puts some (more) people/programs at cross purposes, and the community has to have a lot of overlap; there can't be very many people who would be investigators for the flagship mission who aren't involved with some of those Discovery proposals.
Orbital studies of the surface and orbital/descent studies of the atmosphere are both addressed by the Discovery proposals, in addition to the descent imaging of tessera terrain. The flagship mission includes a lot more in situ surface focus. The timing feels off unless the people proposing the flagship mission have a strong sense that the Discovery proposals are all going to be rejected. Otherwise, the flagship goals could descope and focus with the satisfaction of some of those goals. |
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