A private space company owns a rocket lab. He revealed his plans. To send a small spacecraft into the atmosphere of Venus to analyze signs of life.
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A new study published in Instruments and methods for astrophysics Detailed plan to send RocketLab’s Photon satellite into the atmosphere of Venus to measure its atmospheric composition and geological history. The results from the mission will give researchers a better understanding of the history of Venus and the planet contains the elements necessary for life.
Citing its recent success with the CAPSTONE launch, the private space company proposed using a reliable electron launch vehicle to send a small spacecraft equipped with an autofluorescent nephelometer (AFN). This device is designed to shine a laser on many particles in Venus’ atmosphere, and if the laser hits the molecule that produces the fluorescence, it could be organic. An example of this is the amino acid tryptophan, which is known to have fluorescent properties. The Rocket Lab spacecraft weighs only 2.2 pounds.
The spacecraft’s smaller form factor allows the rocket lab to conduct quick dockings on multiple scientific missions, allowing researchers to answer questions faster than usual. The rocket lab’s photon probe will penetrate the Venusian atmosphere for about five minutes, during which time it will collect all the data and transmit it back to Earth.
“The ability to send a small payload of one or two instruments at a time is game-changing for science focused on fast time scales. Missions typically take years to decades to plan and execute, making it difficult to answer new and exciting science questions.“said Dr. Sarah Seager, professor of planetary science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, principal investigator of the mission and co-author of the paper.
Rocket Lab doesn’t want to stop there, researchers said in the study. It takes about an hour in the cloud layers of Venus’ atmosphere. Another mission includes a balloon that will keep the spacecraft in the atmosphere for at least a week.
In other space news, NASA is about to launch the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the first step toward returning humans to the moon. The mission is called Artemis 1 and will involve a mission to orbit the moon to gather information important to future missions. More on this story below.
