FutureFuture ExplorationExploration ofof Venus:Venus: SomeSome NASANASA PerspectivesPerspectives Adriana Ocampo & Steve Saunders National Aeronautics and Space Administration [email protected] James Cutts & Tibor Balint Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Caltech [email protected] & [email protected] Presented at the Chapman Conference Exploring Venus as a Terrestrial Planet Key Largo, Florida, USA 13-16 February 2006 1 Overview • Brief Summary of Past/Present Venus In-situ Missions • Recent Solar System Exploration Strategic Plans • Next steps 2 Past Missions: Russian Venus Lander Missions (1965-1981) Year Type / Method Comment Method EDL Venus Venera 3 1965 Venus Lander Impacted Venus, Contact Lost Parachute FAILED Venera 4 1967 Venus Probe Failed at altitude 24.96 km Parachute FAILED Venera 5 1969 Venus Probe During parachute descent data was Parachute FAILED transmitted from the atmosphere for 53 minutes before failure Venera 6 1969 Venus Probe During parachute descent data was Parachute FAILED transmitted from the atmosphere for 51 minutes before failure Venera 7 1970 Venus Lander 35 minutes of data during descent, 23 min. Aerobraking then parachute PARTIAL weak signal from the surface (1st man made FAILURE object to return data after landing on another planet) Venera 8 1972 Venus Lander Data during descent, plus 50 minutes after Aerobraking/ D2.5m parachute at 60km landing Venera 9 1975 Venus Orbiter Operated for 53 minutes after landing Protective hemispherical shell/ three parachutes/ disk and Lander shaped drag brake/ metal, compressible doughnut-shaped landing cushion Venera 10 1975 Venus Orbiter Operated for 65 minutes after landing See Venera 9 and Lander Venera 11 1978 Venus Lander Transmitted data after touchdown for 95 Aerodynamic ~/ parachute ~/ atmospheric braking/ soft minutes, until it moved out of range with landing Earth. Venera 12 1978 Venus Lander Worked until out of range , transmitted from See Venera 11 the surface for 110 minutes. Venera 13 1981 Venus Lander The lander survived for 117 minutes. Parachute/ at 47km parachute released/ aerobraking Venera 14 1981 Venus Lander The lander survived for 57 minutes See Venera 13 The longest surface mission survived for almost 2 hours 3 Past Missions: Close-up Surface Features on Venus (USSR) 4 Past Missions: Venus Exploration, VEGA Mission • International project: VEGA 1 & 2 • Was managed by Space Research Institute (IKI) • Combined study of Venus and Halley's comet • Developed by Babakin Space Center • Fabricated by Lavochkin Association (in Khimki, Moscow region) • Flew by Venus on June 11th and 15th, 1985; • Studied the surface & atmosphere of Venus with • 2 balloons with 4 scientific experiments & • 2 landers with 9 experiments • VERY FRUITFUL INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION VEGA Mission Profile VEGA balloon during Earth atmosphere testing 5 Past Missions: US Venus Missions • 1962 - Mariner 2 (U.S.) flew by Venus (12/14/62); Verified high temperatures. • 1974 - Mariner 10 (U.S.) bound for Mercury, flew by Venus (2/5/74); Tracked global atmospheric circulation with visible and violet imagery. • 1978 - Pioneer Venus Orbiter (U.S.) radar mapped Venus (12/78); Pioneer Venus Multiprobe (U.S.) dropped four probes through Venusian clouds. • 1989 - Magellan (U.S.) was launched toward Venus (5/4/89). It arrived at Venus in 1990 and mapped 98% of the planet. Mission ended in 1994. 6 Past Missions: Pioneer-Venus Probes Large Probe Small Probe Large Probe Large Probe Pressure Vessel Internal Arrangement Separation Sequence Small Probe Pressure Vessel Internal Arrangement Large Probe Design Summary Small Probe Design Summary Mass 302 kg Mass 94 kg Deceleration Module 109 kg Pressure Vessel 193 kg Deceleration Module 33 kg Diameter Pressure Vessel 61 kg Aeroshell 142 cm Diameter Pressure Vessel 78 cm Aeroshell 76 cm Battery 19 cell AgZn Pressure Vessel 47 cm 40 A-h Battery 20 cell AgZn Data Rate 128/256 bps Science Accommodations 7 pressure vessel penetrations 11 A-h 9 windows (8 sapphire, 1 diamond) Data Rate 16/64 bps Science Instruments 35 kg total, 106 W Science Accommodations 3 doors - (LAS) Atmospheric Structures 2 windows (sapphire) - (LN) Nephelometer Science Instruments 4.5 kg total, 10 W - (LCPS) Cloud Particle Size Spectrometer - (LIR) Infrared Radiometer - (SAS) Atmospheric Structures - (LNMS) Neutral Mass Spectrometer - (SN) Nephelometer - (LGS) Gas Chromatograph - (SNFR) Net Flux Radiometer - (LSFR) Solar Flux Radiometer Ref: Bernie Bienstock, Boeing Satellite Systems ©2005 • The Boeing Company • All rights reserved 7 Venus Exploration Analysis Group (VEXAG) • established by NASA in July 2005 • to identify scientific priorities and strategy for exploration of Venus. VEXAG is currently composed of two co-chairs and two focus groups. •The focus groups will actively solicit input from the scientific community. VEXAG will report its findings and provide input to NASA, but will not make recommendations. • Chaired by Sushil Atreya and Janet Luhmann • Next meeting May 1-2, 2006 Pasadena California http://www.lpi.usra.edu/vexag/vexag.html 8 On-going Mission: Venus Express (ESA) • Follow-on to Mars Express • Will study the atmosphere, the plasma environment, and the surface of Venus • Nominal mission: 500 days in Venus orbit • Launch Mass: 1270 kg • Operational orbit: 24-hour elliptical, quasi- polar orbit • Instruments: – ASPERA-4: Analyzer of Space Plasmas and Energetic Atoms – MAG: Magnetometer – PFS: Planetary Fourier Spectrometer – SPICAV: Spectroscopy for Investigation of Characteristics of the Atmosphere of Venus – VeRa: Venus Radio Science – VIRTIS: Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer Ref: ESA – VMC: Venus Monitoring Camera 9 On-going Mission: Venus Express (ESA) NASA Participation on Venus Express: • 10 Venus Express Participating Scientist (PS) selected (NASA NRA Jan. ‘05; selection July ‘05, 10 selected out of 30 proposals submitted) Charles Acton - JPL NAIF Sushil Atreya - Univ. Michigan,Coupled dynamics and chemistry Kevin Baines - JPL, To the depths of Venus with Venus Express. US Science lead PS. Pontus Brandt - JHU/APL, Aspera-4 investigation David Crisp - JPL, To the depths of Venus with Venus Express Sanjay Limaye - Univ. Wisconsin, Exploration of dynamics and chemistry Janet Luhmann - UC Berkeley, Building on PVO Chris Russell - UCLA, Magnetometer investigation Alan Stern - SwRI, Occultation experiments (SPICAV) Len Tyler - Stanford, Radio science • DSN support (bistatic radar, Venus movie, etc) Tommy Thompson Lead for DSN and Program Support • Educational Outreach Program lead by Rosalyn Pertzborg and Sanjay Limaye ESA Announcement of Opportunity for Interdisciplinary Ref: ESA Scientist is out NASA is considering supporting 1-3 USA VEX IDS 10 Future International Mission: Venus Climate Orbiter – aka Planet-C (JAXA) • The science plan of VCO is complementary with that of the ESA’s Venus Express mission • VCO focuses on global imaging from equatorial orbit • Science Goals: – Atmospheric dynamics Mechanism of super-rotation Meridionalcirculation Meso-scale processes Lightning Cloud physics – Detection of active volcanism – Inhomogeneity of surface material – Zodiacal light • Science Instruments: • Launch / Arrival: June 2010 / Dec 2010 – 1-mm Camera (IR1) • Planned mission lifetime: 2 years – 2-mm Camera (IR2) • S/C mass: 480 kg (including fuel) – Ultraviolet Imager (UVI) • Science payload: 34 kg – Longwave Infrared Camera (LIR) • Attitude control: – Lightning and Airglow Camera (LAC) Pointing accuracy 0.1° / Stability 0.01° – Sensor Digital Electronics Unit (DE) • Orbit: Periapsis 300 km / Apoapsis 13 Rv – Radio Science (RS) / Period 30 hours Ref: Takeshi Imamura, JAXA’s Venus Climate Orbiter (Planet-C) Overview 11 Recent NASA Solar System Exploration Strategic Plans 1. NRC Decadal Survey – 2002 “New Frontiers in the Solar System, an Integrated Exploration Strategy”. Technical Report, Space Studies Board, National Research Council, Washington, D.C. http://www.nap.edu 2. Solar System Exploration Roadmap – 2003 The 2003 Solar System Exploration Roadmap is available on line at http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/download-detail.cfm?DL_ID=3 3. Strategic Road Map for Solar System Exploration – 2005 Available from the Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG) website: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/opag/announcements.html 1. 2. 3. 12 Solar System Exploration Decadal Survey – 2002 Integrated Exploration Strategy • Presents key scientific questions • Ranked list of conceptual missions • Recommendations for the decade 2003-2013 • A set of “deferred high priority flight missions for decades beyond that” • Recommended significant investments in advanced technology to enable high priority flight missions Implementation Approach • Discovery Program (<$350M) PI-led and competitively selected (6 to 7 per decade) • New Frontiers Program (<$650M) PI-led and competitively selected, but to a specified set of targets (4 per decade) – Jupiter Orbiter w/ Probe, Lunar Sample Return, Comet Sample Return and Venus In Situ Explorer • Flagship missions (>$650M) – directed missions http://www.nap.edu – like Cassini Huygens, 1 per decade 13 SSE Decadal Survey: Inner Solar System: Keys to Habitable Worlds Exploration Strategy • Sample Return Missions from targets of increasing difficulty – Moon first – Mars next – Mercury-Venus • In-Situ Exploration of Venus – Investigate surface and atmospheric chemistry – Demonstrate key technologies for sample return •Network Scienceat Venus and Mercury – Seismology and magnetic fields – Heat flow – Atmospheric circulation