Venus is the first planet in our solar system to be visited by a spacecraft made on Earth. In 1970, Venera 7 became the first spacecraft to land on the planet’s surface and return data.
Earlier, Venus was believed to be Earth’s "twin planet" with lush jungles flourishing underneath the dense clouds. However, space missions and telescopes revealed that Venus is a hellish planet with a volcanic environment and a thick atmosphere—capable of crushing undefended machines in a minute.
Probes perish rapidly on Venus’ surface—characterised by a corrosive atmosphere that is roughly 50 times denser than our planet and very high temperatures that can melt lead. Orbital navigation hints that the hellish planet may have been home to inhabitable oceans before becoming hostile. By studying Venus, scientists can learn how Earth-like planets transform over time.
The Indian Space Research Organisation aims to send out Shukrayaan—a Venus orbiter—in December 2024. The orbiter will be equipped with an infrared camera, radar and other instruments to navigate the planet’s surface.
Scientists from ISRO have suggested that Shukrayaan will need a few months to visit Venus— and the primary objective of this mission is to map the subsurface and surface of the planet while examining the atmospheric interaction and chemistry with solar winds.
Rocket Lab partnered with MIT to launch a private mission to the hellish planet in January 2025. The mission features a small probe that resembles a cone with a dome-shaped top. The probe aims to gather potential proof of organic life beyond Earth.
The probe will use the Photon spacecraft of Rocket Lab—to land on Venus and drop itself into its atmosphere. The first phase of data collection will last nearly 3 to 5 minutes only because the probe will plummet from a height of 37 to 28 miles (60 to 45 kilometres)—in the potentially inhabitable Venusian region—where scientists had found phosphine earlier.
The Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble Gases, Chemistry, and Imaging Plus (DAVINCI) mission—is aiming to launch in 2029. The mission’s probe will enter the Venusian atmosphere for the first time after Vega 2—the Soviet lander, in 1984. The space mission's primary objective is to examine how the planet’s atmosphere developed and evolved in 4.6 billion years.
The collected data will enable scientists to determine the role of Venus’ atmosphere in heating the planet. The Venusian atmosphere is incredibly dense and mostly constitutes carbon dioxide—which might have resulted in a runaway greenhouse reaction—evaporating all the water on the planet’s surface.
The DAVINCI mission will further measure the lower atmosphere’s composition to estimate the quantity of water Venus had in the past and identify the ongoing chemical processes.
The VERITAS spacecraft is scheduled to launch in 2031—by NASA—to explore Venus and its mysterious past. This space mission will help scientists identify the mechanisms that turned Venus into an uninhabitable planet.
NASA partnered with the ESA (European Space Agency) to amplify the probe’s scientific output. VERITAS infrared spectrometer is designed to identify significant signs of water vapour (if any)—in the exploded material from Venus’ interior—enabling experts to determine if Venus harbours substantial water beneath its crust—like our planet does. It will also answer many questions associated with Venus’ phosphine mystery.
The EnVision spacecraft, by the ESA—is scheduled to launch in 2031 to navigate Venus and its mysterious past. EnVision’s objective is to shed light on Venusian history and the various occurrences that led to its transformation from an inhabitable to a hellish planet. ESA is collaborating with NASA to amplify the scientific output derived from the mission.
The infrared spectrometer of EnVision will survey minerals on the surface of Venus and determine the rocks’ composition. This study will help scientists evaluate if some Venusian rocks were formed in water’s presence.
EnVision and VERITAS will be actively surveying Venus at the same time. Together, all these ambitious space missions will offer an extensively comprehensive image of the Earth’s twin planet. The 2030s will likely be hailed as the decade of Venus exploration.
