Rocket Lab’s high-energy Photon mission hopes to search for life in the clouds of Venus and is scheduled to launch in May 2023. (Credit: Rocket Lab) In a recent study published in Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics, the private space company, Rocket Lab, outlines a plan to send their high-energy Photon spacecraft to Venus in May 2023 with the primary goal of searching for life within the Venusian atmosphere. The planet Venus has become a recent hot topic in the field of astrobiology, which makes the high-energy Photon mission that much more exciting.
Rocket Lab’s high-energy Photon mission hopes to search for life in the clouds of Venus and is scheduled to launch in May 2023. (Credit: Rocket Lab)
Rocket Lab’s planned high-energy Photon mission to Venus is slated to conduct the approximate 5-minute science phase of its mission at 48-60 kilometers (30-37 miles) above the surface. (Credit: NASA Ames Research Center)