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

doi:10.3390/aerospace9070385

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
p. 385

Abstract

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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.

Published in Aerospace

ISSN: 2226-4310 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Technology: Motor vehicles. Aeronautics. Astronautics
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/aerospace

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