Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Venus cloud encounter – a private sector investigation.
Credit: Rocket Lab

Here on Earth, Venus is somewhere between the Spinal Tap song about living in a “Hell Hole” but mixed with comedian Rodney Dangerfield’s quip of getting “no respect.”

Nevertheless, for all that negativity, Venus is more positively alluring than ever.

Electron small launch vehicle enables Venus exploration.
Credit: Rocket Lab

Scientists are now sniffing out what future missions can cough up new information regarding that world’s potential as an extraterrestrial home address for life – life that’s busily minding its own business in a swirl within Venusian clouds.

Boosting the promise of life on Venus detection is to make use of private rocketry capability, such as using the entrepreneurial Rocket Lab booster and their Photon upper stage.

Venus Life Finder Mission report.
Credit: MIT/Breakthrough Initiatives

For many months, work on reaching out to Venus has been in tight-lipped mode.

But for details, go to my new Space.com story – “Rocket Lab planning to launch private Venus mission in May 2023 – A new paper provides details of the ambitious mission” at:

https://www.space.com/rocket-lab-planning-to-launch-private-venus-mission-in-may-2023