FLORIDA – The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced on Wednesday it is sending two new missions to Venus to examine the planet’s atmosphere and geological features.
The missions, where each was awarded $500 million in funding, are due to launch between 2028 and 2030.
NASA administrator Bill Nelson said the missions would offer the “chance to investigate a planet we haven’t been to in more than 30 years”.
The last United States probe to visit the planet was the Magellan orbiter in 1990.
However, other spacecraft – from Europe and Japan – orbited the planet since then.
The missions were picked following a peer review process and were chosen based on their potential scientific value and the feasibility of their development plans.(BBC)
