The Envision mission that ESA is building will focus on the geology of Venus, which they say was once “habitable like Earth” for around 2-3 billion years.
Prior to that, numerous international studies showed that Venus, a planet also in the Goldilocks’ “life zone” of the solar system, was born as a habitable world, a perfect twin of Earth.
However, recent studies in Europe show that around 700 million years ago it underwent a dramatic transformation – possibly due to a series of catastrophic volcanic eruptions – which completely changed the planet, destroying and destroying the atmosphere. The Earth twin has since become a “version of hell” after 2-3 million years of peace, liquid water, and perhaps as livable as Earth.
The Daily Mail quotes Dr Güther Hansinger, director of the science department at ESA, they will have a full science program for the planet. One of the key points is the “tesserae”, a surface structure of Venus that European scientists say resembles the continents of Earth, which is evidence of tectonic activity still present on the planet.
EnVision will also study the soil layers of Venus and monitor traces of gases in the atmosphere for evidence of volcanic activity.
It would be an important step forward in the dream of alien life. Geological activity is an essential element for a habitable planet, as it is linked to the balance of climate and the environment, creating the hormones necessary for reproduction and the evolution of life.
ESA says the mission will be launched after a decade of construction (early 2030s), in close cooperation with NASA and the Venus missions it just announced.
According to Dr Adriana Ocampo, a scientist in the EnVision program at NASA Headquarters, the new ESA mission will offer a unique perspective through targeted studies of the surface of Venus, thus enriching the exploration route of Venus.
