Venus’ Only Active Probe Mysteriously Falls Silent
For nearly 10 years, there’s been only one spacecraft able to keep its cool above the hellish landscape of Venus. The Japanese Akatsuki probe was sent to Earth’s neighboring planet…
Fresh Lava Flows on Venus Hint at Active Volcanoes
The surface of Venus is littered with thousands of volcanoes, some of which may still be active until today. A fresh look at 30-year-old radar images captured by the Magellan…
How Did Water Escape From Venus? A New Study May Have Solved the Mystery
Around 4.5 billion years ago, Earth and Venus were born in the midst of a chaotic star system. With the neighboring worlds being of the same size and similar structure,…
‘The Nightmare Is Over’: NASA Resurrects VERITAS Mission to Venus
A long overdue mission to Venus is finally back on track after being put on hold due to budgeting and staffing issues at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). NASA Delays…
An Ambitious Mission to Venus Is Set to Launch in 2031
The EnVision mission to Venus was officially adopted by the European Space Agency on Thursday, which means the organization has committed to getting the spacecraft Venus-bound by the early 2030s.…
Venus’s Skies Are Covered in Oxygen, Actually
While air is a gaseous delight unique to Earth, a team of astrophysicists have made a satisfying discovery: the direct observation of atomic oxygen on Venus’ dayside, confirming that the…
Enormous Satellite Discovered to Outshine All but the 7 Brightest Stars
Late last year, a communications satellite unfurled its giant wings, stretching out a 693-square-foot (64-square-meter) antenna array in low Earth orbit. Once fully deployed, BlueWalker 3 became one of the…
Here’s why scientists think life may have thrived on the ‘hell planet’ Venus
When you look at Venus today, it doesn’t seem like a very welcoming place. With surface temperatures hotter than an oven, atmospheric pressure equivalent to being 3,000 feet deep in…
Inside the crazy plan to scoop up and bring home a bit of the Venus atmosphere
If you’ve been following space news recently, you’ve probably heard about Mars Sample Return — NASA’s ambitious plan to collect samples of Martian rocks and bring them back to Earth…
The art and science of aerobraking: The key to exploring Venus
The decade of Venus is almost upon us. With three upcoming Venus missions planned from NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), we’re on the cusp of learning more about our…