A private mission to Venus is nearing completion ahead of a possible 2026 launch. Rocket Lab, in collaboration with NASA’s Ames Research Center and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has been working on a heat shield technology called HEEET.
The heat shield, made from a woven material, will protect the spacecraft from temperatures up to 4,500 degrees Fahrenheit during descent into Venus’ atmosphere. The mission aims to measure autofluorescence and backscattered polarized radiation to detect organic molecules in the clouds.
While the launch date has been pushed back to summer 2026, MIT’s Sara Seager, leader of the Morningstar Missions to Venus team, reports that progress is being made on the instrument build and integration tests with the probe. The spacecraft will be launched on Rocket Lab’s Neutron booster.
The mission marks a significant step in exploring Venus, which has sparked debate about whether it ever had oceans to support life or was formed “hot”.
Source: https://www.space.com/the-universe/venus/the-1st-private-mission-to-venus-comes-together-ahead-of-possible-2026-launch-photos