EnVision

EnVision [Thales Alenia Space]

EnVision is an ESA Venus orbiter, providing a holistic view of the planet from its inner core to upper atmosphere to determine how and why Venus and Earth evolved so differently.

EnVision will be equipped with a suite of European instruments including a sounder to reveal underground layering, and spectrometers to study the atmosphere and surface. The spectrometers will monitor trace gases in the atmosphere and analyse surface composition, looking for any changes that might be linked to signs of active volcanism. A NASA-provided radar will image and map the surface. In addition, a radio science experiment will probe the planet’s internal structure and gravity field as well as investigate the structure and composition of the atmosphere. The instruments will work together to best characterise the interaction between the planet’s different boundaries – from the interior to surface to atmosphere – providing an all-encompassing global view of the planet and its processes.

As prime contractor, Thales Alenia Space will be responsible for the entire satellite, featuring 5 scientific instruments and an ultra-stable oscillator to perform radio science experiments, provided by ESA Member States and NASA, in further detail:

• VenSAR (Venus Synthetic Aperture Radar)
• VenSpec suite (spectrometer suite) consisting of:
  • VenSpec-H (High-Resolution Infrared Spectrometer)
  • VenSpec-U (Ultraviolet Spectral Imager)
  • VenSpec-M (Near-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer) and Central Control Unit (CCU)
• Subsurface Radar Sounder (SRS)
• Radio Science Experiment (RSE)

Envision will be launched in 2031 on an Ariane-64 (baselined). It will reach Venus after a 15-month cruise. After its arrival, the orbiter will spend about a year aerobraking through Venus' atmosphere to gradually reach its scientific orbit, a near low-polar orbit of Venus, at an altitude of 220 to 540 km and with an orbital period of approximately 94 minutes.