The DAVINCI mission is to measure the chemistry and environment in clouds and on the surface, as well as to measure Mt. A system known as Alpha Regio that could represent an ancient continent on Venus. Additionally, DAVINCI’s mission includes two science flights, where it will search for clues for mysterious molecules in Venus’ upper cloud deck and measure rock types in some mountainous regions of Venus.

All these new and unique measurements will make the “exoplanet next door” a key location for understanding Earth- and Venus-sized exoplanets that may have a history similar to our sister planet. DAVINCI will pave the way for a series of NASA and ESA missions in the 2030s, opening a frontier in the search for clues as to whether Venus has oceans and how the atmosphere-climate system has evolved over billions of years. DAVINCI science will address the question of habitability and how it can be “lost” during the evolution of rocky planets.

DAVINCI will study cloud tops in ultraviolet light, monitor cloud movement and analyze mysterious UV-absorbing chemicals during two gravity-assisted flights. Both flights will study nighttime heat emitted from the surface. These geological clues paint a general picture of surface composition and evolution.

Seven months after our second flight, DAVINCI will launch its atmospheric probe, which will reenter the atmosphere for two days. It will take about an hour for the probe to sink into the atmosphere and make measurements at the surface. These measurements will include composition, wind, temperature, pressure and acceleration profiles. Key gases will help us understand how Venus formed and evolved. Some of these measurements can even reveal old water marks.

The spherical probe contains cutting-edge instruments that will work together to solve questions about Venus’ atmosphere and protect it from the extreme temperatures, high pressures and acid clouds around it.

DAVINCI’s camera looks down through a small viewing hole, and when the probe passes under the clouds, it will begin to collect a series of 3D images that will also help us understand whether the rocks in the Alpha Regio Highland region reveal the story of an ancient continent. consists of water. And a collaborative student experiment on the determination of oxygen will demonstrate the role of this gas in the deep atmosphere.

The discoveries emerging from this diverse dataset will help us understand whether Venus was once habitable, and the story we uncover extends beyond our own solar system to similar exoplanets to be observed with the James Webb Space Telescope.