VISAR: Bringing Radar Interferometry to Venus

Abstract

VERITAS is a partnership between scientists and engineers at NASA/JPL and with the German, Italian and French Space Agencies. It is one of four candidate NASA Discovery 2019 missions selected for a Concept Study Phase leading to an eventual NASA selection in the Spring of 2021. VERITAS would carry two instruments, VISAR the X-band interferometric radar provided by NASA/JPL with contributions from ASI and DLR and VEM an infrared spectroscopic mapper provided by DLR. Data from these two instruments would be combined with gravity science data obtained from tracking data of the orbit to investigate tectonic style and ongoing volcanism. After arriving at Venus after a 9-month cruise from Earth VERITAS would begin an 11-month aerobraking phase, which is interrupted after 5 months for 5 months of VEM science observations, before continuing to its final nearly circular polar orbit that varies between 180 and 255 km in altitude where both VISAR and VEM data are collected.