Venus Origins Explorer

Venus Origins Explorer (VOX) is a concept orbiter mission to Venus.[1][2]

VOX would produce global, high resolution topography and imaging of Venus' surface and produce the first maps of deformation and global surface composition, thermal emissivity, and gravity field to study the interior structure of the planet. Current data are suggestive of recent and active volcanism on Venus, and this mission could determine if current volcanism is limited to mantle plume heads or if it is more widespread.[3]

The Principal Investigator for VOX is Suzanne Smrekar at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Smrekar was the PI of the VERITAS orbiter proposal to Venus that competed in 2015 for the Discovery Program 13 mission. VOX is a reformulation of VERITAS[2] proposed in 2017 to NASA's New Frontiers program mission 4 to compete for funding and development, but it was not selected.

  1. ^ Smrekar, Suzanne; Dyar, M. D.; et al. (eds.). Venus Origins Explorer (VOX), a Proposed New Frontier Mission (PDF). The Venus Exploration Analysis Group.
  2. ^ a b Venus Origins Explorer New Frontiers Proposal. Van Kane. Future Planetary Exploration. 1 October 2017.
  3. ^ Smrekar, S. E.; Elkins-Tanton, L. T; Hensley, S.; Campbell, B. A, B. A. (2014). VERITAS: A mission to study the highest priority Decadal Survey questions for Venus. American Geophysical Union - Fall Meeting 2014. NASA. Bibcode:2014AGUFM.P21B3912S.