Seismic Mission to Venus
Synopsis
It has been nearly 30 years since mankind sent a lander to the surface of Venus. The lifetimes of previous landers have been limited to only a few hours, since the extraordinarily high temperatures have prohibited conventional electronics from operating on the surface of the planet. Yet there is much we would still like to know about Venus. For starters, we suspect but have never confirmed the degree of the planet’s seismic activity. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is selecting competitive proposals for a scientific mission to Venus that lasts for 90 days and streams seismic data back to earth. Your company is planning to submit a mission proposal to NASA, which will select the mission based on a combination of criteria that emphasizes low cost and likelihood of success.
Until now, no long-term seismic missions have gone to Venus. The Russian Venera missions successfully reached Venus and took seismic measurements, but only remained active for a few hours at most. This timeframe is not adequate to get a true picture of Venus’s seismic activity. In this mission, a seismic probe will be sent to Venus aboard a lander. The lander will remain on the surface of Venus, taking seismic measurements, for 90 days. Throughout these 90 days, the measurement data will continually be sent back to earth for analysis. The extended time period should give us a better understanding of Venus below the surface. The vehicles will consist of a satellite and a lander. Both will be launched from Earth and reach Venus during its closest approach to Earth. The lander will then detach from the satellite and descend to the surface. Since the Venusian atmosphere is extremely dense and hostile, the satellite will act as a relay between the lander and Earth. After 90 days, the lander will continue to measure and send data until it is no longer functional
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We, the Extraterrestrail Seismography Corporation (ESC), have created this website and associated proposal to meet the requirements put forth to us.