China wants to collect samples in Venus' atmosphere and bring them to Earth
China has already collected samples on the moon and brought them back to Earth. A similar mission is planned to Venus to search for life, among other things.
Computer model of the northern hemisphere of Venus created on the basis of data from the US Magellan probe.
(Image: NASA/JPL)
Venus is our closest neighbor in the solar system. However, due to the extreme conditions, it does not seem very attractive to fly there: Temperatures of over 460 degrees Celsius and a pressure of 92 bar prevail on the surface –, which corresponds to the pressure at a water depth of around 900 meters. China is now planning a mission to the planet, including a return to Earth.
Last autumn, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the space agency and the authority responsible for the manned space program presented the space program until the middle of the century. One of the destinations to be visited is Venus: China is planning a mission to the planet's atmosphere between 2028 and 2035. Samples are to be taken there, which will then be brought back to Earth.
However, no details were given at the time. Recently, a slide showing more detailed information has been circulating on social media. According to this, the mission is intended to examine the planet's atmosphere directly on site. Samples are also to be taken in the atmosphere and brought back to Earth. The aim is to determine whether life exists in the atmosphere of carbon dioxide and sulphuric acid, which is extremely toxic to humans. In 2020, a study was published in the journal Nature Astronomy that found phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus, which was seen as possible evidence of life there. However, the study is controversial.
Another research goal is to find out why the clouds in the atmosphere of Venus are able to absorb ultraviolet radiation. They should not actually be able to do this.
The mission requires two spacecraft
The fact that samples are to be collected in the atmosphere in addition to an on-site investigation suggests that the mission will probably consist of two spacecraft: a probe that will descend into the atmosphere and collect samples, and an orbiter to which the former will dock and which will then bring the samples to Earth.
China has long since risen to become one of the leading space nations, having already successfully carried out sample retrieval missions with the Chang'e 5 and Chang'e 5 lunar landers. A mission to Mars is also being planned.
However, such a mission to Venus faces several difficulties, Rachana Agrawal told the US science magazine IEEE Spectrum: "Above all, navigating the sample collector to the orbiter is problematic, as no visible light penetrates through the clouds. This means that orientation by the stars is not possible.
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As Venus has no magnetic field, this is also no longer a navigation aid. Finally, little is known about the conditions in the atmosphere. The spacecraft could have to launch in a very dynamic environment, said the scientist. On Earth, however, rocket launches are often aborted due to strong winds. Agrawal is part of a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that designed a Venus mission a few years ago, but which was rejected by the US space agency NASA.
(wpl)
