Designs for the European Space Agency's (ESA) Venus mission radar and atmospheric probes will be reviewed in the next two weeks by the agency and UK technology firm Qinetiq, which is leading the project's feasibility study.
The review could lead to atmospheric hardware tests in 18 months time. If successful, the radar and its probes would be sent to Venus during the next decade. The mission, yet to be named and undergoing a €500,000 feasibility study, would collect Venusian atmospheric data. The 1.5kg (3.3lb) radar would be carried by a balloon in the upper atmosphere and would track the golfball-sized, tear-shaped titanium probes, which would free fall and be destroyed by 150°C (302°F) temperatures and 3bar (43lb/in2) pressures at around 98,000ft (30,000m) altitude.
Nigel Wells is project leader at the UK developer technology firm Qinetiq. He says that the probes will have to cope "with temperatures ranging from -100°C at the edge of space to plus 150°C in the atmosphere. There they will encounter 100m/s [328ft/min] crosswinds. We expect them to travel for 120km [74.5 miles] during the 30min drop down from 80km to 40km."
The probes will have micro electromechanical machine technology sensors, photo-sensitive cells for checking cloud opacity and an antenna which is part of the tracking system. The radar sends the signals and they are received by the antenna, the electronics for which then amplify the signal and re-transmit it. This return signal can tell the radar where the probe is to within 30ft.
ROB COPPINGER / LONDON
Source: Flight International
