According to the director of the Institute of Space Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the head of the RAS Council on Space Lev Zeleny, an automatic station can be sent to Venus as part of cooperation with NASA. During the October meeting of the joint working group of Russia and the USA, several scenarios for the future project were proposed.
“There was a conversation with NASA Deputy Director Dave Newman, where she confirmed her interest in the Venus D project,” Lev Zeleny said. The interlocutor also noted that in total, the discussion of the joint project within the Russian-American working group will last about two years.
The issue of joint exploration of Venus (so far without formal agreements) became the subject of discussion between the parties during Dave Newman's visit to Moscow. In addition, European countries and China have already expressed interest in the project. This was reported by the press service of Roscosmos:
'A comprehensive program of Venus research is being considered: an orbiter, subsatellites, and atmospheric probes. Sharing the efforts and responsibilities of the parties involved for individual elements of the mission will help to increase the level of technical development and scientific impact of experiments. '
The Joint Scientific Working Group Roscosmos / IKI – NASA on the Venera-D project was created in 2013. A year later, due to the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions, its work was suspended. In 2015, the group's activities were resumed.
As part of the Venera-D project, a Russian spacecraft will be launched to Venus in 2026-2027, which will remain in the planet's orbit for three years. Previous research stations for the study of Venus were launched more than 30 years ago. The last of these, the Soviet Vega 2, landed on the planet in 1985.
Sources: TASS
