Rocket Lab releases new details on Venus mission

 

Aerospace manufacturer Rocket Lab has released new details on its upcoming mission with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to search for signs of life on the planet Venus.

Utilizing the same "Photon" spacecraft utilized in NASA's "CAPSTONE" lunar mission, Rocket Lab's project is projected to arrive at the gas giant sometime during October 2023, where it will then deploy a probe into Venus's atmosphere. As the probe descends, it will utilize the 1 kg of scientific equipment mounted onboard to scan Venus's cloud layer for organic particles and transmit as much data back to Earth as possible.

The project is the first Venus atmospheric mission in 4 decades. It is also the first ever private sector mission to Venus.