Venus – Spaceflight Now

Parker Solar Probe pulls back the veil on Venus’s night side

February 28, 2021 Stephen Clark

An ultra-sensitive camera on NASA’s Parker Solar Probe caught an ethereal glimpse of the night side of Venus during a flyby last year, revealing terrain seen through the thick haze of the planet’s atmosphere.

Mercury-bound spacecraft gets an assist from Venus

October 15, 2020 Stephen Clark

The European-Japanese BepiColombo spacecraft flew by Venus late Wednesday, using the planet’s gravity to help redirect the probe toward its ultimate destination of Mercury.

Hints of life renew interest in Venus, and a private mission could lead the way

September 14, 2020 Stephen Clark

The announcement Monday of the discovery of phosphine gas in the clouds of Venus — an indicator of possible life — has raised hopes among scientists for new robotic missions to renew exploration of Earth’s planetary neighbor. If Rocket Lab founder Peter Beck gets his way, a privately-funded mission could get the next crack at probing Venus’s soupy atmosphere.

NASA to assess proposals for probes to Venus, moons of Jupiter and Neptune

February 13, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA announced Thursday it will fund four concept studies for potential robotic missions to Venus, Jupiter’s moon Io and Neptune’s moon Triton ahead of a decision next year to approve up to two of the projects for launch in the mid-to-late 2020s.

First milestones accomplished on NASA’s newly-launched Parker Solar Probe

August 19, 2018 Stephen Clark

Space missions dispatched into the solar system often have journeys lasting years before reaching a scientific payoff, but NASA’s Parker Solar Probe launched last weekend on a speedy departure from planet Earth is already getting ready to sweep closer to the sun than any spacecraft in history during a flyby later this year.

Q&A with Andrew Driesman, project manager for Parker Solar Probe (members only)

July 31, 2018 Stephen Clark

Andrew Driesman is project manager for NASA’s Parker Solar Probe mission at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, leading a team of engineers and operators in charge of the first mission to fly through the sun’s atmosphere.

Solar probe moves into launch position at Cape Canaveral

July 31, 2018 Stephen Clark

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, fueled and buttoned up for liftoff Aug. 11 on the first mission to fly through the sun’s corona, arrived at its launch pad at Cape Canaveral early Tuesday after a convoy trip from a nearby fueling and test facility.

Japanese spacecraft spots planet-spanning wave on Venus

January 22, 2017 Stephen Clark

Images from Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft have revealed a gigantic wave in the atmosphere of Venus, and scientists say it may be the largest such feature in the solar system.

Japanese orbiter officially begins science mission at Venus

May 17, 2016 Stephen Clark

Five months since a belated arrival at Venus, Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft has officially started a modified scientific survey of the sweltering, shrouded planet’s atmosphere and climate.

Akatsuki probe relays its first images from Venus orbit

December 9, 2015 Stephen Clark

Japanese scientists released Wednesday the first views of Venus captured by the Akatsuki spacecraft after arriving in orbit this week, setting the stage for regular observations of the planet’s blistering atmosphere over the next few years.