The JPL Venus Aerial Robotic Balloon prototype recently completed a series of test flights over Nevada’s Black Rock Desert to a region of Earth’s atmosphere that mimics the temperature and density it would experience approximately 180,000 feet above Venus. These tests proved the concept’s suitability for accessing a region of Venus’ atmosphere too low for orbiters to reach, but where a balloon mission could function for a length of time.
Ultimately, the aerobot would be capable of traveling on the Venusian winds, floating from east to west, circumnavigating the planet for at least 100 days. It would then serve as a platform for a range of science investigations, whether it be monitoring the atmosphere for acoustic waves generated by venusquakes to analyzing the chemical composition of the clouds. An accompanying orbiter would receive the transmitted data from the aerobot and relay it to Earth while providing a global view of the planet. Unfortunately, it won’t be transporting any passengers into space like Space Perspective’s Neptune luxury balloon.
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We’re extremely happy with the performance of the prototype. It was launched, demonstrated controlled-altitude maneuvers, and was recovered in good condition after both flights. We’ve recorded a mountain of data from these flights and are looking forward to using it to improve our simulation models before exploring our sister planet,” said Jacob Izraelevitz, robotics technologist.
