Japan, Europe To Provide Scientific Equipment For Russia-US Venus-D Mission - Scientist

Japan and Europe are ready to join the Russian-US mission to send the Venus-D interplanetary probe to Venus by providing their scientific equipment, the Russian co-chair of the joint working group on the Venera-D project said in an interview with Sputnik

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th March, 2019) Japan and Europe are ready to join the Russian-US mission to send the Venus-D interplanetary probe to Venus by providing their scientific equipment, the Russian co-chair of the joint working group on the Venera-D project said in an interview with Sputnik.

The launch of the Venera-D space mission, which involves sending Russian orbital and landing platforms, as well as a small US research station, is planned on the Angara-A5 heavy carrier rocket from the Vostochny space center in Russia's Far East.

"At this stage, Japan and Europe are expected to participate in the project as separate scientific organizations," Lyudmila Zasova, a researcher at the Space Research Institute under the Russian academy of Sciences, said.

For the orbiter, Japan offers infrared and ultraviolet cameras, Italy - two mapping spectrometers, Germany - a camera for observing the surface on the night side of Venus in the near-infrared spectrum, which is important for finding possible thermal and volcanic activity, according to Zasova.