Europe will go it alone on Venus mission after NASA yanks radar instrument
That’s enough to start work on a European radar for Envision, even as ESA still awaits a formal notification from NASA on the status of its contribution to the mission. “NASA conversations with ESA regarding Envision are ongoing,” a NASA spokesperson said.
But time is of the essence if Envision is to launch in the early 2030s. ESA officials have already delayed Envision’s launch by one year until 2032 to give teams in Europe more time to deliver the radar.
“At the moment, we are finalizing our agreement with NASA, but it is looking like they are not able to provide the radar,” Straume-Lindner said in response to a question from Ars. “So that is why we are going full steam ahead with the European solution.”
Cancellations and delays
A complementary mission to Envision, NASA’s VERITAS radar orbiter, was supposed to launch in the late 2020s, but funding woes at...
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