Imagine a planet so scorching and toxic that it's dubbed Earth's 'evil twin' – yet, scientists are racing to unlock its secrets before it's too late. Venus, that blazing neighbor of ours, has just bid farewell to its last operational spacecraft, but a new wave of missions is poised to revive our fascination with this hellish world. These explorations promise to reveal how Venus, once possibly a paradise, turned into a pressure cooker of acid clouds and crushing atmospheres. But here's where it gets controversial: political budget battles could scuttle these ambitious plans, leaving us wondering if our curiosity about the cosmos is worth the fight. Stick around to discover how five upcoming missions might redefine what we know about Venus – and why some experts argue we shouldn't ignore the 'what ifs' of its lost Earth-like past.
Venus has said goodbye to its final active orbiter, but a fleet of new explorers is on the horizon. Japan's Akatsuki mission, which had been circling Venus since 2015, was officially declared lost last week after repeated attempts to reestablish contact failed. Despite its demise, Akatsuki's decade-long tenure provided groundbreaking insights into Venus's turbulent atmosphere, far exceeding its intended lifespan. Now, as we mourn this loss, excitement builds for the missions that could follow, each aiming to penetrate the mysteries of this inhospitable planet. And this is the part most people miss: Venus isn't just a barren wasteland; it holds clues to Earth's own fate. What if studying Venus helps us predict climate disasters here? Let's dive into the lineup of proposed journeys to Venus, each with its own mission to unravel the enigma of our solar system's most misunderstood world.
First up is NASA's DAVINCI mission, a $500 million powerhouse set for launch in the early 2030s. This innovative project combines an orbiter with a descent probe, offering a dual approach to studying Venus's fiery features. The orbiter will capture stunning views of Venus's swirling clouds and rugged mountains during two close flybys, while the compact 3-foot-wide (1 meter) probe plunges toward the surface, meticulously sampling the planet's oppressive atmosphere thick with sulfuric acid and documenting the terrain below through images. Together, they'll achieve unprecedented feats, such as hunting for evidence of an ancient water cycle on Venus – imagine rivers or oceans that may have once flowed, only to vanish under the planet's harsh evolution. The mission zooms in on Alpha Regio, a highland 'tessera' region that's among the oldest on Venus, dating back billions of years and previously glimpsed only via radar from orbit. For beginners, think of tesserae as ancient, wrinkled landscapes, like the cracked skin of an old apple, offering windows into the planet's primordial past.
DAVINCI will pioneer the first detailed chemical analysis of Venus's lower atmosphere, from about 17 miles (27.5 kilometers) above the surface down to the ground. This exploration will help scientists understand how gases and compounds interact on and possibly beneath the surface, revealing the planet's dynamic chemistry. But here's the kicker: this mission hangs in the balance due to potential cancellations in the Trump administration's 2026 NASA budget. Critics argue that slashing funds for planetary science prioritizes flashy crewed missions over fundamental discoveries, while supporters contend it's a necessary refocus on human exploration. Do you think budget politics should dictate what we learn about other worlds? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Next, NASA's VERITAS mission, also valued at around half a billion dollars, is scheduled no earlier than 2031. Its goal? To unravel why Venus and Earth, nearly identical in size, followed such divergent paths – one a thriving home for life, the other a scorching inferno. VERITAS will investigate the disappearance of Venus's oceans and magnetic field, and how plate tectonics might have reshaped its landscape. Modeled after NASA's successful MAVEN spacecraft orbiting Mars since 2014, VERITAS will adopt a polar orbit for global coverage. It begins with a lengthy 120-hour elliptical path around Venus, then uses engine burns to shorten orbits to just 10 hours. To save fuel and boost instrument capacity, the craft employs 'aerobraking' – a technique where atmospheric drag slows the spacecraft over months, like a car gradually losing speed in thick fog. This gradual descent allows VERITAS to settle into a speedy 1.6-hour orbit, sustaining a 2.5-Earth-year mission. For those new to space travel, aerobraking is like coasting downhill: it leverages the planet's atmosphere as a natural brake, conserving resources for science.
Yet, VERITAS faces the same budgetary threats as DAVINCI, potentially getting axed under the proposed 2026 cuts. This raises a provocative point: Is Venus exploration a 'luxury' we can afford to delay when Mars missions beckon? Some say yes, emphasizing Venus's extremes as a lab for extreme environments, while others question the value in a planet that seems lifeless. What do you believe – should we invest in Venus now, or wait for more 'promising' targets?
The European Space Agency's Envision mission, costing €610 million ($705 million), is slated for no earlier than November 2031 via an Ariane 6 rocket. Led by ESA with NASA's synthetic aperture radar and Deep Space Network support – those massive radio antennas that keep distant probes chatting – Envision will explore Venus's subsurface to upper atmosphere over four Earth years. It focuses on the planet's habitability origins, probing if Venus once mirrored Earth's milder climate before tipping into its current oven-like state. The orbiter packs an array of tools: an S-band radar and altimeter to map the surface in detail, optical spectrometers to detect trace gases like volcanic emissions, a subsurface radar to peer up to 0.6 miles (1 km) underground, and radio science experiments for gravity and atmospheric studies. After a 15-month cruise and 11 months of aerobraking, it will orbit every 90 minutes.
But controversy looms: NASA's contributions are jeopardized by the same 2026 budget proposals, as confirmed by ESA officials. This international collaboration highlights a global debate – should space exploration unite nations, or do funding disparities risk splintering efforts? And here's the twist: If Venus had liquid water eons ago, could it have harbored life before the runaway greenhouse effect? Some theorists speculate it did, sparking debates on astrobiology. Do you think Venus might hold extraterrestrial secrets, or is it just a cautionary tale for Earth?
Then there's Rocket Lab's Venus Life Finder, the pioneering private mission potentially launching in summer 2026. Partnering with MIT, this $10 million endeavor uses Rocket Lab's Electron rocket and Photon spacecraft to hunt for life's building blocks – organic compounds – in Venus's clouds. Orbiting about 30 miles (48 km) above the surface, a probe will dip into the atmosphere between 37 and 28 miles (60 to 45 km), where conditions mimic Earth's and phosphine hints at possible life. In a brief 3-5 minute science phase, a laser instrument will bombard cloud particles, analyzing scattered light for organic signs via autofluorescence, like glowing under a blacklight. It's a bold leap into private space, but with a short window, success hinges on precision.
This mission challenges the status quo: If organics are found, it could rewrite Venus's story as potentially habitable. Yet, skeptics argue private ventures prioritize quick wins over thorough science. Is commercial space the future of exploration, or does it risk missing deeper discoveries? Weigh in below!
Finally, India's Venus Orbiter Mission, also known as Shukrayaan, is planned for no earlier than 2028 at a cost of $147 million. Following India's lunar Chandrayaan missions and the Mars Orbiter Mission, this orbiter will study Venus's surface, atmosphere, and solar interactions, including aerobraking tests. Its 16 payloads cover high-res surface mapping, atmospheric dust and airglow, subsurface probing, and solar X-ray analysis. Venus intrigues with its CO2-rich air, high-pressure surface, and ionosphere battered by solar wind – a constant particle stream from the Sun, for context.
As India's first Venus venture, it expands solar system comparisons, but delays from 2023 highlight logistical hurdles. And this is the part most people miss: Studying Venus's interactions with the Sun could mirror Earth's future climate shifts. But is Shukrayaan ambitious enough, or should India chase bolder probes? Your opinions matter – does Venus deserve more global attention?
These missions could transform our understanding of Venus, but budget cuts and political wills might derail them. What if we never explore these 'evil twin' mysteries? Join our Space Forums to discuss the latest on Venus and beyond! And if you've got news tips, corrections, or comments, reach out at community@space.com.
Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., served as a staff writer for Space.com's spaceflight channel from 2022 to 2024, focusing on Canadian space developments. With a decade of contributions from 2012 to 2024, her exclusive reporting covered White House insights, a space tomato saga on the ISS, five human launches across continents, parabolic flights, spacesuit experiences, and a Mars simulation. Her book, 'Why Am I Taller?' (co-authored with astronaut Dave Williams, ECW Press, 2022), delves into space's quirky effects.
