China has planned to explore Venus in the next few years. According to a new roadmap released by Chinese space organisations, it is planning to collect atmospheric samples of the hellish planet.
The mission is part of the development plan up to 2050 which was jointly released by Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the China National Space Administration (CNSA), and the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO), Space News reported.
The plan reportedly outlines five major scientific themes that involves exploring the extreme universe, the nature of matter, habitable planets, studying the Sun and space exploration.
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China’s Venus mission will reportedly take place in the second phase of the plan from 2028-2035. According to the proposal, a spacecraft will descend through the atmosphere to collect samples and another ascent vehicle will take off from the surface to deliver the samples to a spacecraft waiting in orbit. This spacecraft will then return to Earth with the sample canister. This mission will focus on habitability and the search for potential life on Venus.
Notably, China is the newest player in the race to Venus. NASA is also launching three spacecrafts to the planet starting 2029. The first is DAVINCI followed by VERITAS and EnVision both in 2031.
Apart from NASA, ISRO is also working on its Venus mission. It includes an orbiter that will circle the planet for five years and it’s targeted for launch on March 29, 2028.
ALSO SEE: ISRO’s First Mission To Venus Finally Gets A Launch Date; Here’s All About It
(Image: NASA)
