NASA simulates spacecraft falling into 'hell' of Venus

NASA shared a new video that simulates the DAVINCI mission and the scientific research the spacecraft will conduct on Venus, the most inhospitable planet in the Solar System.

This spring, NASA announced the agency is developing two new missions to explore Venus in the early 2030s. One mission is called VERITAS (Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy), will fly around and peer through the planet's thick clouds. The other mission, called DAVINCI (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging), will go a step further by letting the high-tech probe fall directly through the Venusian atmosphere.

Scheduled to launch in 2029, the DAVINCI mission consists of two parts. First, the main spacecraft will fly twice close to Venus to study the planet's atmosphere and dark side. Studying the spacecraft's atmosphere will focus on observing how clouds change over time and trying to identify a mysterious chemical that absorbs ultraviolet light. Meanwhile, studying the dark side will map the surface using infrared light because the rock releases heat absorbed during the night. Scientists hope the data will help them better understand how Venus's strange highlands form.

NASA simulates the DAVINCI mission.

Seven months after two flights, the probe will fall through the clouds for an hour and transmit data along the way. While the main spacecraft tracks, the probe will detect the composition, temperature, pressure and winds in each layer of Venus's atmosphere. Through all the data, the NASA team will not only better understand Venus today, but will also be able to string together its history as if the planet once had water or not.

After approaching the surface, the probe will take high-resolution images of an area called Alpha Regio Tesserae . The surface of Venus contains many plates of tesserae, where the rock is constantly breaking and folding in the same way that occurs deep within the Earth's crust. The probe will help researchers visualize the experience of standing on the surface of Venus.

Venus's atmosphere denser Earth 100 times, including 95% of CO ₂ . The surface temperature of Venus is higher than 470 degrees Celsius, enough to melt lead. Air pressure is equal to Earth's sea pressure at a depth of one kilometer. "Venus has acid clouds instead of water vapor clouds. The scary thing is that you have to go through it to reach the surface of the planet. The environment here is very harsh, like hell on Earth , " Gustavo Costa, American scientist in chemistry and materials described on Business Insider.