Russia has started designing its Venera-D spacecraft, which will be tasked with studying the surface of Venus, Lyudmila Zasova, the head of the laboratory for spectroscopy of planetary atmospheres at the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Sputnik on Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th March, 2021) Russia has started designing its Venera-D spacecraft, which will be tasked with studying the surface of Venus, Lyudmila Zasova, the head of the laboratory for spectroscopy of planetary atmospheres at the Space Research Institute of the Russian academy of Sciences, told Sputnik on Thursday.
The Venera-D automatic space station consists of an orbiter and lander for comprehensive research of the planet's atmosphere, surface, internal structure and plasma environment. The institute's science adviser, Lev Zelenyi, has said that funds for the station's preliminary design would be allocated this year.
"It has started. I'm talking about the pilot project. The launch should take place in 2029," Zasova said.
Zelenyi later confirmed that the pilot was underway.
The mission was initially planned as a Russian-US venture. Last year, however, Russia's Roscosmos State Space Corporation stated it would carry it out as an independent national project without significant international cooperation.
