Do you have the right stuff to design a new rover which can withstand the extreme temperatures and atmosphere of Venus? The planet is scorching hot, and much hotter than a kitchen oven, reaching 872 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature that can melt lead. It has an atmospheric pressure equivalent to being 3,000 feet below the surface of the ocean. It's quite the challenge and NASA needs your help.
Image credit: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
As mentioned above, Venus is covered in a really thick atmosphere primarily which is composed of carbon dioxide gas created and has a greenhouse gas effect from your worst nightmares. Additionally, it is the most volcanic planet in our solar system.
"The two proposed Venus missions are each very different and each would accomplish something unique. The first is VERITAS or (Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy). This orbiter would map the surface of Venus to better understand the complex features and help determine more about Venus’s plate tectonics and whether or not Venus is still geologically active. The other option is a one and done deal called DAVINCI+ or Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging Plus. DAVINCI+ would drop a spherical spacecraft through the atmosphere, and during its descent the probe would collect data to help scientists better understand what the atmosphere is composed of and help complete the picture of how the planet was formed.
Sure it rains sulphuric acid and it kills all spacecraft that land there but NASA really wants to go to the planet anyway. So grab your spacesuit and get ready to show a little love to this bizarre world." [Excerpt from Wired]
Here is a video from Scott Manley which addresses these problems and challenges, and explains some possible design ideas.
YouTube video from Scott Manley
The Soviet Union's Venera 13 lander was the last vehicle which had at least some success in photographing the surface of Venus, and measuring some data. The lander only survived 127 minutes on the surface of Venus, however, it did exceed the expected design life of 32 minutes. The Venera descent lander was a hermetically-sealed pressure vessel, which contained most of the instrumentation and electronics, mounted on a ring-shaped landing platform and topped by an antenna. The design was similar to the earlier Venera 9–12 landers. It carried instruments to take chemical and isotopic measurements, monitor the spectrum of scattered sunlight, and record electric discharges during its descent phase through the Venusian atmosphere. The spacecraft utilized a camera system, an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, a screw drill and surface sampler, a dynamic penetrometer, and a seismometer to conduct investigations on the surface.
References
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxzC4EngIsMrPmbm6Nxvb-A
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venera_13
https://www.wired.com/story/space-photos-of-the-week-venus-is-the-spacecraft-killer/
