NASA will allocate approx. 500 million each. dollars to develop each of the two ventures named DaVinci + and Veritas.
“They will allow the scientific community to study a planet we have not been to in 30 years,” said new NASA chief Bill Nelson, quoted by AFP, in an annual speech to agency employees.
According to Reuter, citing NASA, DaVinci + will measure Venus’ dense atmosphere to better understand its evolution. This will include the precise testing of noble gases and other elements. It is to determine if there has ever been an ocean there.
DaVinci + is also expected to provide the first high-resolution images of Venus’ unique geological features.
Veritas, in turn, will be tasked with mapping the planet to help determine its geological history and explain why it developed differently from Earth.
The mission “will trace the topography across most of the planet’s surface to create a 3D reconstruction of the topography and confirm whether tectonic or volcanic processes are still present,” NASA said.
Veritas is also expected to determine if active volcanoes are releasing water vapor into the atmosphere.
“We hope these missions will give us a better understanding of how the Earth has evolved and why it is now habitable, while other planets are not,” explained Bill Nelson.
Źródo: AFP, Reuters, PAP
(TM)
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