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Europa or bust? Maybe not. Top 9 priorities for planetary research missions

8. Venus In–Situ Explorer

NASA
NASA provided this artist's rendering of the In-Situ Explorer dropping through Venus's hostile atmosphere. The mission will investigate the climate change processes that led to the extreme conditions on Venus today and lay the groundwork for a future Venus sample-return mission, says NASA.

  • By Pete Spotts Staff writer

This New Frontiers mission would deliver a lander to the searing surface of Venus to analyze rock samples and drill into the crust for more-pristine rocks that haven't been subjected to the harsh conditions on the surface. NASA has never attempted to land a mission on Venus, but the nine landers sent by the USSR between 1970 and 1983 survived from 23 to 127 minutes before being pulverized by Venus's crushing atmosphere. NASA's Venus In-Situ Explorer is designed to survive for at least four hours.

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