Rocket Lab delays launch of world's first private mission to Venus till 2025

Rocket Lab is no longer launching the world's first private mission to Venus this year. Initially planned for launch last month i.e. May 2023, the ambitious exploration will launch no earlier than January 2025 when the backup launch window opens. The US-based aerospace firm had announced the mission in August 2022 with an aim to search for signs of life on Earth's twin. 

According to Tech Crunch's report, the company spokesperson did not provide any major reason for the delay except for saying that delivering customer missions is a priority; since the firm offers launch services to different companies to deploy their satellites using its Electron rocket.

We're sending our Photon spacecraft to Venus in search of life 🛰️

Supported by a science team at @MIT, this is the 1st private mission to Venus & 1st opportunity to probe the Venusian clouds in nearly 4 decades.

Full mission details in this new paper: https://t.co/diJter9Lmt pic.twitter.com/FA53lZpCCH

— Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) August 16, 2022

Rocket Lab admits that its Venus mission, which has the backing of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and several philanthropists, will cost less than $10 million but has a high risk. This mission includes a small probe just 15 inches across which weighs around 18 kg and will be dropped through the Venusian clouds. According to the mission team, the probe will look for organic particles inside the cloud droplets as it falls through the planet's atmosphere at a speed of 40,000 kilometres per hour.

(A graphic illustrating the probe's planned descent through the Venusian atmosphere; Image: MIT)

Notably, the probe will have just five minutes to gather data while it is in the Venusian clouds and radio it back to Earth. It will hit the ground about an hour after entering the atmosphere of Venus and if it survives, additional data will be collected. "We need more time in the clouds,” said Sara Seager, who is leading the MIT team that is developing the probe. “An hour would be enough to search for complex molecules, not just see their imprint," Seager added.

While it may or may not find anything substantial, the mission will set the stage for NASA's DAVINCI mission slated for launch in 2029. Apart from the US, India and Russia are also jointly developing the Shukrayaan mission to the planet along with China, which also has a project planned for Venus.