Rocket Lab founder Peter Beck has made headlines with a rather flashy goal. Although the Electron launch vehicle is one of the smallest orbital rockets on Earth, Beck pushes the performance of this thruster to the fullest. During the rocket’s second launch in January 2018, it added a disco ball-like sphere to the rocket, which it dubbed the “Humanity Star,” to offer a tiny, luminous object that people could briefly follow in the night sky.
In interviews since then, it’s been clear that Beck loves Earth’s closest neighbor, Venus. While the surface of Venus is incredibly hot, carbon dioxide-filled, and generates incredible pressures, scientists think there may be Earth-like air pressure in the clouds far above this deadly surface, and this region may support some life forms.
That’s why Peter Beck intends to study this using his tiny Electron rocket, which is just 18 meters long.
Rocket Lab announced last night that it plans to send a small rover to fly through the clouds of Venus at an altitude of 48-60 km for about five minutes. He said he would provide funds for the development and launch of this small spacecraft. Some famous planetary scientists, such as MIT professor Sara Seager, will also assist Beck in designing this mission.
If the launch date of March 2023 can be achieved, the spacecraft will reach Venus in October 2023 and then release the 20 kg rover into the Venus atmosphere.
The spacecraft will carry a scientific instrument that weighs only 1 kg and will be used to identify particles suspended in clouds. The dropped probe will fall through the upper atmosphere for about 5 minutes and 30 seconds, and in an ideal scenario, it will continue to send data in the middle and lower atmosphere as it continues its descent towards the planet.
The purpose of this mission is stated to be to search for traces of life and microbial life forms in the upper atmosphere of Venus. As mentioned, with this mission we will have the opportunity to directly study Venus cloud particles for the first time in almost 40 years. Although the size and speed of data collected is limited, it is possible that even this limited time spent in the Venusian atmosphere will lead to very important discoveries.
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