Introduction
We present a concept for a scientific mission to Venus in order to gather information about the Earth's sister planet. The data gathered will include not only seismic waves, but also temperature, pressure and wind velocity at the surface, and possibly the detection of lightning. Although only the first of those measurements was required by the mission goals, the other measurements appeared to be necessary in order to complete the primary goals, as explained here. Those will nevertheless greatly increase the scientific return of the mission, as long-term atmospheric measurements have never been performed to date.
The duration of the mission is expected to be at least 90 days on the surface of Venus, which is a challenge in itself. The longest surface mission on Venus to date lasted a thousandth of this duration, Venera 13 surviving only 127 minutes.
The mission would involve a single lander on Venus's surface, streaming data directly back to Earth. Click here for a quick trade-off study of direct-to-Earth versus using a relay satellite.
