Before NASA sends its DAVINCI (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging) descent probe down through Venus’s thick atmosphere, scientists need to confirm that its cameras and instruments can do the job. During its 60-minute descent at Venus, the probe will capture images, measure the atmospheric chemistry, and explore the environment of a world no one has seen up close in this way.
To prepare, a team of DAVINCI scientists and engineers traveled to Crater Island, Utah, in late June. There, they simulated the descent imaging part of their Venus mission through slow, near-vertical helicopter descents from altitudes as high as 18,000 feet to make sure they would be able to measure the landscapes using only optical and infrared images taken on the way down.
Venus’ surface is not well understood. Past spacecraft that made it to the surface glimpsed only small patches of ground, while radar-equipped orbiters at Venus gave scientists broad pictures of the planet. The DAVINCI probe will attempt to fill in the details between these micro and macro scales, as it sniffs out the gases in Venus’s atmosphere and snaps images while sinking toward the surface of a mountainous region called Alpha Regio. These images alone will need t …