NASA announces Two Robotic Missions to Venus

Why in News ?

• American space agency, NASA, has announced its two new robotic missions namely Davinci+ and Veritas, to Venus to examine atmosphere and geological features on the planet.

About the mission

• Each of the missions has been awarded $500m funding. They will be launched in between 2028 and 2030. Missions would provide a chance to investigate the planet Venus that hasn’t been provided in about 30 years. T

Davinci+ Mission

• Davinci+ is “Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging” mission. It will measure atmosphere of Venus to gain insight into how it formed and evolved. It also seeks to determine whether Venus ever had an ocean.

Veritas Mission

• This mission is called as “Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy”. It will map surface of Venus to understand its geologic history.
• It will also investigate how it developed differently than Earth.
• It will use a form of radar to investigate surface elevations and will discover if volcanoes and earthquakes are still happening.