Aerospace
(Jul 2022)
Venus Life Finder Missions Motivation and Summary
Sara Seager,
Janusz J. Petkowski,
Christopher E. Carr,
David H. Grinspoon,
Bethany L. Ehlmann,
Sarag J. Saikia,
Rachana Agrawal,
Weston P. Buchanan,
Monika U. Weber,
Richard French,
Pete Klupar,
Simon P. Worden,
Darrel Baumgardner,
on behalf of the Venus Life Finder Mission Team
Affiliations
Sara Seager
Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Janusz J. Petkowski
Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Christopher E. Carr
School of Aerospace Engineering and School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
David H. Grinspoon
Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ 85719-2395, USA
Bethany L. Ehlmann
Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Sarag J. Saikia
Spacefaring Technologies Pvt. Ltd., 15F, No. 14, Bhattrahalli Old Madras Road, KR Puram, Bangalore 560049, Karnataka, India
Rachana Agrawal
School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Purdue University, 701 W. Stadium Ave., West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
Weston P. Buchanan
School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Purdue University, 701 W. Stadium Ave., West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
Monika U. Weber
Fluid-Screen, Inc., 100 Cummings Center, Suite 243-C, Beverly, MA 01915, USA
Richard French
Rocket Lab, 3881 McGowen Street, Long Beach, CA 90808, USA
Pete Klupar
Breakthrough Prize Foundation, NASA Research Park, Building 18, P.O. Box 1, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
Simon P. Worden
Breakthrough Prize Foundation, NASA Research Park, Building 18, P.O. Box 1, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
Darrel Baumgardner
Droplet Measurement Technologies, LLC, 2400 Trade Centre Ave, Longmont, CO 80503, USA
on behalf of the Venus Life Finder Mission Team
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace9070385
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9,
no. 7
Abstract
Read online
Finding evidence of extraterrestrial life would be one of the most profound scientific discoveries ever made, advancing humanity into a new epoch of cosmic awareness. The Venus Life Finder (VLF) missions feature a series of three direct atmospheric probes designed to assess the habitability of the Venusian clouds and search for signs of life and life itself. The VLF missions are an astrobiology-focused set of missions, and the first two out of three can be launched quickly and at a relatively low cost. The mission concepts come out of an 18-month study by an MIT-led worldwide consortium.
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