EnVision : Europe’s next mission to Venus

Posted on 29 March 2019 by widemann

“Welcome to the EnVision official website ! EnVision is a proposed Venus orbiter mission that aims to understand how and why Venus, the Earth’s nearest neighbour, has evolved differently from the Earth. Like so many missions studying the Earth’s crust and interior structure from orbit, EnVision will study the geological activity of Venus in unprecedented detail, using a combination of radar, optical spectroscopy and gravity mapping.’

EnVision would be a European Space Agency mission, with significant scientific participation from NASA. It is one of three mission concepts competing for an opportunity to launch in 2032. The world map you see just above is composed from a mosaic of radar images taken by the Magellan spacecraft launched May 4, 1989, at the end of the cold war. The mission ended October 13, 1994. This is a “false color” image, which means that scientists have told a computer to use different colors for different surface elevations. Blue areas show smooth surfaces, or possibly surfaces that are covered with dust. Brown areas represent rough terrain.

The mission will provide a range of global maps, image, topographic and subsurface data at a resolution rivalling that available for Earth and Mars. Envision will help understanding why the most Earth-like planet in the solar system has turned out so differently, opening a new era in the exploration of our closest neighbour.

“Please explore our menus & follow the links above to find more about Venus and the EnVision project !’

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