At some time in the next ten years, the Chinese mission aims to do what has not been done before: collecting cloud molecules from Venus And bring them home. But achieving this goal will mean overcoming one of the most hostile environments in the solar system – the planet Horror The clouds are primarily consisting of drops of sulfuric acid.
when China The veil revealed a Long -term road map For space science and exploration last fall, the second stage (2028-2035) included an unprecedented Venus Important sample atmosphere. As usual for Chinese space missions, a few details have been published. But the information is in a conversation Presentation Joint Social media It gives us a new look at early task plans.
The segment shows that the main scientific questions that are targeted include the possibility of life on Venus, the development of the planet in the atmosphere, and the ambiguity of UV rays in its clouds. The task will carry the gathering device as well as the analysis equipment in the atmosphere on the site. Searching for life, in part, due to the attention resulting from a controversial study published in Nature astronomyIn 2020, which suggested that the effects of phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus could be an indication of a biological process.
Venus sample challenges of the return task
Sarah SegerProfessor in Massachusetts Institute of Technology ((Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyHe led a team to collect the proposal of the Venus sample mission in 2022. Nassa She did not choose the proposal, but her team continued to work, including experiments with sulfuric acid. “Although our DNA cannot survive, we have started to show this [a] An increasing number of Organic moleculesBiotherapy, stable. So we imagine that there can be life on Venus. ” IEEE SICTRUM.
a task Proposals Like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, it offers a window on the difficult technical challenges faced by the China team. Reaching Venus, entering its thick atmosphere, collecting samples and returning to the orbit of the flower to an orbit of waiting for the samples to the Earth, all of which come with different challenges. But the potential scientific return makes these obstacles worth cleansing.
The Massachusetts Institute Technology team suggested that a teilon balloon be able to resist the erosion of the acid that floats across the sky without the need for payment, fuel and associated mass.. On the contrary, the initial width of China shows a winged vehicle, indicating that it follows a different architectural path.
“It will be amazing to get samples on hand to solve some large puzzles on Venus.” Sara Seaager, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Rashana AgrawalThe post -PhD fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says that some of the main challenges are related to the processes inside the clouds. One of them moves through thick clouds, usually transparent to visible light. Although this is not very important while taking the samples, knowing your place exactly is necessary when it comes to using a missile to return the samples. With the missile that needs to enter a delicate orbit. “In Venus, we have no GPS In clouds. The missile cannot see the stars or the surface, and Venus does not have a magnetic field, ”says Agrawal. One of the answer is to prepare a satellite navigation system for the fenus to help the task, add an additional launch and complexity.
A climb vehicle will be needed to get the sample box in the orbit to excite and pier with a waiting orbit. A solid motivation missile in two phases-similar to that plan Mars Sample RTUR Brown – it will be one of the simplest options. But working remotely or independently, millions of kilometers from the ground will be in unknown conditions, accurate.
“We don’t know much about the air, so we don’t know what local conditions are. So it may be a very dynamic environment that the missile must launch,” says Agrawal. China’s scientists and engineers will need to answer all these questions to withdraw the return of its sample. It has already shown success by the return of the garbage sample from Chang’e-5 and 6, to launch Tianwen-2 Assister Assupling in late May this year, and is absolutely targeted in late 2028 for the ambition TianWen-3 MARS sample sample is important. Experience and technology from these efforts will be useful for Venus Venus.
The design of the proposed mission for MIT 22 will require a ton of spacecraft, and the final goal of delivering 10 grams of weather samples to Earth. The Chinese design is likely to provide a similar percentage. However, even such a relatively small amount of material can be revolutionary in our understanding of the flower and Solar power system.
“I’m very excited about this,” says Seageer. “Even if there is no life, we know that there is an interesting organic chemistry, for sure. It will be amazing to get samples on hand to solve some large puzzles on Venus.”
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