Title :
Venus sample return. A hot topic
Author :
Rodgers, David ; Gilmore, Martha ; Sweetser, Ted ; Cameron, Jonathon ; Chen, Gun-Shing ; Cutts, Jim ; Gershman, Robert ; Hall, Jeffrey L. ; Kerzhanovich, Viktor ; McRonald, Angus ; Nilsen, Erik ; Petrick, Walt ; Sauer, Carl ; Wilcox, Brian ; Yavrouian, An
Author_Institution :
Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Technol., Pasadena, CA, USA
Abstract :
Within the Solar System, Venus presents a set of unique challenges to obtaining samples and returning them to Earth. High temperatures, a thick corrosive atmosphere and poorly characterized terrain are some obvious examples. Our only knowledge of the surface and atmosphere is from Radar images and the data from Soviet probes. A point design now exists for a single launch mission to return Venusian samples massing about 100 g. This paper discusses this mission, addressing the science return, how some of Venus´ attributes can be used to advantage and what technologies will be needed to make this mission a reality. It also explores possible future directions to make the mission more affordable
Keywords :
Venus; planetary rovers; Venus sample return; space mission; Atmosphere; Bars; Earth; Extraterrestrial measurements; Planets; Probes; Radar imaging; Soil; Space vehicles; Venus;
Conference_Titel :
Aerospace Conference Proceedings, 2000 IEEE
Conference_Location :
Big Sky, MT
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-5846-5
DOI :
10.1109/AERO.2000.879315
