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NASA is preparing to return to Venus with two spacecraft—DAVINCI and VERITAS—while the European Space Agency’s EnVision mission is planned to arrive in the same early-2030s campaign. Together they will sample the atmosphere, map the surface, probe the planet’s interior and investigate why a world similar to Earth in size and composition became vastly hotter and denser. The missions are planned, not locked to final launch dates: current planning points mainly to 2031–2032, with schedules still subject to funding, spacecraft readiness and launch opportunities.
Which missions make up the new Venus campaign?
| Mission | Agency | Mission architecture | Main measurements | Current planning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAVINCI | NASA | Multiple flybys followed by an atmospheric descent sphere | Atmospheric chemistry, pressure and temperature profiles, and close-range images of highland terrain near Alpha Regio | NASA budget planning moved the launch from an earlier 2029 concept date to an available 2031–2032 opportunity |
| VERITAS | NASA/JPL | Polar orbiter | Radar and emissivity maps, gravity measurements, volcanism, tectonics and interior structure | No earlier than 2031; NASA budget documents identify a 2031–2032 opportunity |
| EnVision | European Space Agency | Orbiter carrying six investigations | Linked studies of the atmosphere, surface and interior | Planned for November 2031, followed by about 15 months of cruise and 11 months of aerobraking |
NASA describes DAVINCI and VERITAS as the first NASA spacecraft to explore Venus since the 1990s. EnVision adds an international mission designed to connect measurements that would otherwise be made by separate spacecraft.
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What DAVINCI will do inside Venus’s atmosphere
A descent sphere built for direct sampling
DAVINCI combines orbital-mechanics flybys with a one-time descent through Venus’s atmosphere. Its probe will measure the composition and physical conditions of the atmosphere as it falls, rather than inferring everything from a distant orbit. Principal Investigator Jim Garvin has said that no previous mission inside the Venus atmosphere measured its chemistry or environments at the detail DAVINCI’s probe can provide.
Images of Alpha Regio
During descent, cameras will image terrain near Alpha Regio, one of Venus’s highland regions. Those close-range views are intended to show the rocks and landforms that orbital instruments cannot resolve in the same way. Comparing the images with the probe’s chemical measurements may reveal what the highlands are made of and whether they preserve evidence of an earlier Venusian environment.
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Flybys before the probe release
The flybys are part of the mission architecture, not a substitute for the descent. They help the spacecraft reach the right geometry and can provide additional observations before the probe enters the atmosphere. The descent itself is a single, high-value opportunity: once the sphere reaches the surface, the mission cannot repeat that profile elsewhere.
What VERITAS will map and measure
Global radar maps
VERITAS will orbit Venus in a polar trajectory and use radar to map the surface through the planet’s opaque cloud cover. The resulting data are intended to improve global topography and identify features associated with tectonics, mountains, lava flows and other geological processes.
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Signs of geological activity
Repeated and complementary observations can help scientists search for evidence that Venus is still geologically active. VERITAS’s radar and surface-emissivity investigations are designed to distinguish materials and landforms, while changes in thermal or surface properties can point to comparatively recent volcanism or deformation. The mission’s planned science phase is three years in polar orbit.
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Small variations in the spacecraft’s motion reveal how mass is distributed beneath the surface. VERITAS will use gravity measurements with its radar and emissivity data to constrain Venus’s crust, mantle and broader interior structure. That information addresses whether Venus recycles heat and crust through Earth-like plate tectonics, through a different global process, or through episodic regional activity.
How EnVision differs from the NASA missions
A layered view from core to upper atmosphere
ESA describes EnVision as the first mission intended to provide a complete view of Venus from its inner core to its upper atmosphere. Its six investigations are arranged to study the interior, surface and atmosphere as a connected system rather than treating any one layer in isolation.
Long operations after a demanding arrival
EnVision’s current plan calls for a November 2031 launch, roughly 15 months of interplanetary cruise and about 11 months of aerobraking to reach its operational orbit. ESA expects the mission to operate for about four Earth years after cruise and aerobraking. Aerobraking uses repeated passes through the upper atmosphere to reduce orbital energy, so the spacecraft must complete that phase before its main science observations begin.
Why returning to Venus matters for understanding Earth
Venus and Earth are close in size and bulk composition, yet Venus evolved into a much hotter, denser world. The contrast is a natural experiment in planetary evolution. DAVINCI samples the atmosphere directly; VERITAS supplies global maps and geophysical measurements; EnVision links the interior, surface and atmosphere. Taken together, the observations can test how volcanic gases, water loss, crustal processes and internal heat shaped the two planets’ divergent histories.
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Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.When will NASA go back to Venus?
The best current answer is 2031–2032, with important qualifications. NASA’s current VERITAS overview says launch is no earlier than 2031. NASA’s FY2025 budget justification moved DAVINCI from an earlier 2029 concept date to an available 2031–2032 opportunity, citing budget constraints. Older DAVINCI pages may still show a tentative June 2029 launch; that date is historical planning, not the current commitment.
ESA’s current EnVision plan specifies November 2031. NASA’s chronology has listed all three missions in 2031, while NASA’s data archive records VERITAS as delayed. These differences reflect changing budgets and launch opportunities, so “planned,” “targeted” and “no earlier than” are the appropriate descriptions until agencies announce firmer mission milestones.
Readiness testing is already under way
NASA’s DAVINCI team conducted an analog campaign in Utah from June 23 to 25, 2026. Ten helicopter flights descended over seven geological sites while a suspended basket carried nine instruments, including infrared cameras and pressure and temperature sensors.
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The flights produced three terabytes of data. Engineers and scientists are using those observations to refine three-dimensional reconstructions of terrain and to improve the procedures for interpreting the images DAVINCI’s probe may collect during its real descent. The Utah campaign does not reproduce Venus’s atmosphere; it tests the imaging geometry, instrument coordination and data-analysis methods needed for the descent.
Quick Recap
What each mission could answer
- DAVINCI: What chemicals make up Venus’s atmosphere at different altitudes, and what do the rocks and landforms of Alpha Regio reveal about the planet’s past?
- VERITAS: How are Venus’s surface, volcanism and tectonic structures organized, and what do radar and gravity reveal about its interior?
- EnVision: How do the interior, surface and atmosphere interact, and why did Venus diverge so sharply from Earth?
What could still change before launch
- Launch windows and available rockets can move dates even after a mission has completed major design work.
- NASA budget documents describe opportunities and planning assumptions, not an irrevocable launch contract.
- EnVision’s November 2031 date and NASA’s 2031–2032 opportunities should be treated as targets until the agencies confirm final readiness and launch services.
- Once in flight, EnVision’s 15-month cruise and 11-month aerobraking sequence adds a substantial interval before routine science begins.
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