New-Frontiers (NF) Class In-Situ Exploration of Venus: The Venus Climate and Geophysics Mission Concept
Whitepaper #346 submitted to the Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032. Topics: atmospheric/exospheric evolution; other science themes: Venus Geophysics; Venus
by Kevin Baines, Alexander Akins, David H. Atkinson, Sushil Atreya, Mark Bullock, Kar-Ming Cheung, James A. Cutts, Len Dorsky, Darby Dyar, Raphael Garcia, Robert Grimm, Maxim De Jong, Jeffery Hall, Joern Helbert, Gary Hunter, Kandis Lea Jessup, Armin Kleinboehl, Attila Komjathy, Sebastien Lebonnois, Phillippe Lognonne, Kevin McGouldrick, David Mimoun, Olivier Mousis, Dragan Nikolic, Joseph G. O'Rourke, Michael T. Pauken, Jean-Baptiste Renard, Sara Seager, Nicolas Verdier, Panagiotis Vergados, Colin Wilson, and Yuk L. Yung
Published onMar 18, 2021
New-Frontiers (NF) Class In-Situ Exploration of Venus: The Venus Climate and Geophysics Mission Concept
More than 85% of the 23 investigations developed by VEXAG are largely accomplished via a NF mission centered on a variable-altitude balloon (aerobot) supported by a science/comm orbiter. Circling Venus >15 times over ~90 days, the aerobot repeatedly visits 52–62 km alts as it semi-continuously samples a host of environmental & surface parameters.
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