A joint exploration in Venus is being cooked up by Russia and NASA. Discussions about the potential program have been going on for some time until the negotiations hit a dead end due to political differences between Washington and Moscow.
The talks have been put on hold for a couple of years now. The postponement is attributed to the sanctions being imposed against the Federation for its annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The United Press International (UPI) shares that the Venus mission will be named Venera-D. This program seeks to land a space vessel on the surface of the planet in order for the research and investigation processes to commence before the module eventually succumbs to the burning heat. This means that the examination approach must be done within days.
According to the Russianspaceweb, the probe will be the Federation's first after the collapse of the Soviet Union. For information purposes, the D in the Venera-D stands for Dolgozhivushaya which means long-lasting.
According to Lev Zeleny, Director of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the collaborative effort between the two countries has been tackled with Dava Newman, the Deputy Administrator for NASA. It has been learned during the sharing of ideas that both the American and the Russian crews have working capabilities that complement each other.
David Senske, a jet propulsion scientist at NASA and co-chairman of the Venera-D team, says that the Russians have a lot of things going for the project. Considering that it is an IKI/Rocosmos probe, Moscow will assume a larger role in the exploration.
If this mission will commence, it will be the first time that a space vessel will land on Venus. Although a similar expedition reached the surface back in 1970, the capsule of the Soviet Vega-2 robot station burst into flames due to extreme temperature.
Aside from the Americans, the Chinese and the Europeans have also signified their intentions to join the probe. The program will also launch atmospheric sounders including an orbiter.
While the exploration looks promising, the second planet from the sun has nothing much to offer. The heat is just harsh judging that temperature reaches to as high as +467 Celsius. Sunlight cannot penetrate due to thick clouds that cover the planet.
Moreover, Venus is enveloped with pure carbon dioxide and has a 93-atmospheric pressure which is pretty much the same as those registered in the deep oceans on Earth.
Alexander Zheleznyakov, an Academician at the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics, sees a level of significance on the planet, pointing out that mineral resources from other celestial bodies will be critical to the Earth's future.
