Free Astronomy Magazine July-August 2021

8 JULY-AUGUST 2021 ASTRO PUBLISHING G reat detail shown in the Venu- sian atmosphere through imag- ing in the ultraviolet. The original imaging was performed by the Akat- suki orbiter, still in operation around Venus. [JAXA/ISAS/DARTS/Kevin M. Gill] Below, an artist’s concept of the VERITAS orbiter mapping out a re- gion of the Venusian surface’s topol- ogy and geology by radar. [NASA/JPL-Caltech] sition and dynamics, while also re- turning the first surface images since Venera 13, the Soviet probe that landed back in 1981. For the study of the atmosphere from orbit, DAVINCI+ will be equipped with multispectral instrumentation (ultraviolet and near-infrared) and a wide-field camera to study composition and dynamics. Before succumbing to the ex- treme temperatures and pres- sures at the Venusian surface, the descent probe will sample at various altitudes the con- centration of Noble and other gases, the distributions of var- ious isotopes, and even begin to address the chemistry occur- ring within the substructures of the planet’s atmosphere. Fi- nally, the probe will perform extensive imaging of the descent and landing location. The proposed landing site is Alpha Regio, one of the mapped tesserae on Venus. These tesserae are the most geolog- ically ancient structures on the Venu- sian surface, described often as the Venusian equivalent of continents here on Earth. Their age, structures, and mineralogy might be consistent with the presence of water oceans and plate tectonics – if such an Earth-like situation could have ex- isted on Venus. At present, a number of theories exist for the formation of Venusian tesserae. DAVINCI+ will provide an even higher-resolution study of one single location against the global imaging already being performed by VERITAS. As for questions that these two mis- sions hope to address, there are many. Geology − The significance of weather and plate tectonics in the