The last US probe to visit the planet was the Magellan orbiter | UPSC PRO

The last US probe to visit the planet was the Magellan orbiter in 1990.

Now, NASA has announced two new missions to Venus. These two sister missions both aim to understand how Venus became an inferno-like world, capable of melting lead at the surface.

Davinci+:
The Davinci+ (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging) mission

Veritas (Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy):
This mission will map the planet’s surface to understand its geological history and investigate how it developed so differently than Earth.

Historic missions to Venus:
1 Magellan – a Nasa mission that ended in 1994.
2 Venus Express– A European mission- focused on atmospheric science.
3 Akatsuki– Japanese spacecraft- focused on atmospheric science.

Future missions:
The European Space Agency (Esa) is evaluating a Venus mission, called EnVision, alongside two astronomy proposals – Theseus and Spica. Other concepts are also being proposed to Nasa.

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