2024-01-29 05:51:40
The brief of January 29, 2024
Two missions have just been adopted by the European Space Agency. They will try to provide answers to two different questions: “ What can gravitational waves tell us about the history of the Universe? Why does our closest neighbor in space look so different from planet Earth? ».
First we have the LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) gravitational wave observatory. He ” will be the first space observatory dedicated to detecting ripples in the fabric of space-time “, that is to say gravitational waves.
« LISA will build on the success of LISA Pathfinder, launched by ESA in 2015 to demonstrate the innovative key technologies that LISA will use. The main mission is expected to be launched in 2035. It will be composed of three spacecraft which will move in a triangular formation 2.5 million km apart from each other. They will follow in the wake of the Earth, approximately 50 million km behind it. LISA will detect space-time ripples through subtle changes in the distances between free-floating cubes in each spacecraft ».
The second mission therefore concerns the Venus explorer EnVision. He ” will have its eyes fixed on a planet much closer to Earth, will study Venus with a level of detail never before achieved and in its entirety, from its inner core to its upper atmosphere “. The mission should be launched in 2031 and should start collecting data in 2035. This will be the second mission to Venus, after Venus Express between 2005 and 2014.
This planet is interesting in several respects: “ Venus is the planet most similar to Earth in terms of its size, structure and distance from the Sun. It may even once have had a climate similar to that of Earth, before developing an uncontrolled greenhouse effect, leading to scorching temperatures and crushing atmospheric pressure. ».
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