HR4RS stamp
Nora Fernandez Fernandez
Venus is the planet in the Solar System most similar to Earth, due to its size, composition and physical properties. However, their study in the second half of the XNUMXth century revealed that their environmental conditions and geology differ from those of Earth. In addition, the study of its surface showed that it is a planet with significant volcanic and tectonic activity, but with a very different style from the plate tectonics that operates on Earth.
Models of planetary evolution suggest that Venus could have been habitable in its early stage, even before Earth itself, so understanding how and when this planet reached its current state is essential to know what makes a planet habitable and what is the role of geological development in this evolution. Currently, the average temperature of the surface of Venus is 460ºC and its atmospheric pressure is about 90 times that of Earth, due to a runaway greenhouse effect.
According to Iván López, professor of Internal Geodynamics at the URJC, “all this has made Venus one of the objectives of the Solar System exploration strategy of the main space agencies for the next decade”. In the coming years, there will be "a new stage in the exploration of Venus after the selection of three complementary missions to the planet."
These missions are coordinated by the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA. Each agency will have a committee of 6 experts who will trace the route to follow and plan the missions, "with the aim of seeking synergies and new research approaches," says López. He and other professionals from universities and international research centers will form the Venus Coordination Group (VesCoor).
On behalf of ESA, the Agency will carry out the mission Envision, dedicated to the study of the atmosphere, the surface and the interior of Venus. NASA, for its part, has selected two missions, Veritas y DA VINCI, which will also study the planet's atmosphere and surface. The first one will be DAVINCI, scheduled for 2029, and the other two will take place in 2031.
Given this great project, "the main suspicion is that Venus is a geologically active planet, but there is only one photograph from the year 91 to compare what the change has been in these years," says the URJC researcher. Mainly, "these missions will take images that allow us to study the surface, the geology and observe the changes, see if there are active volcanoes and to what extent their evolution has been similar to that of the Earth."
Although each mission has its own science team, the VesCoor committee will try to combine the results of the three missions to obtain the maximum scientific return possible. "The idea is that in the coming years we are going to have a lot of planning work and see what data we can collect in each expedition," says López.
After 20 years studying Venus, the URJC professor acknowledges that "being one of the 12 people selected by ESA and NASA is exciting." After starting the appropriate meetings, the committee will work on small reports and suggestions until around 2029, the year in which the missions to the neighboring planet will begin.