VERITAS (spacecraft)

VERITAS

Illustration of the VERITAS spacecraft in orbit around Venus
Mission type	Venus orbiter
Operator	NASA / JPL
Website	science.nasa.gov
Mission duration	Planned: 3 years
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin
Power	5,900 watts[1]
Start of mission
Launch date	Official: NET 2031 Proposed: November 2029[2]
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Cytherocentric
Pericytherion altitude	400 km (250 mi)[1]
Period	1.6 hours[1]
Instruments VEM Venus Emissivity Mapper VISAR Venus Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar DSAC-2 Deep Space Atomic Clock-2
Discovery program ← Psyche DAVINCI →

VERITAS (Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy) is an upcoming mission from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to map the surface of the planet Venus in high resolution. The combination of topography, near-infrared spectroscopy, and radar image data will provide knowledge of Venus's tectonic and impact history, gravity, geochemistry, the timing and mechanisms of volcanic resurfacing, and the mantle processes responsible for them.

On 4 November 2022, NASA announced the postponement of the mission launch from 2027 to 2031, citing institutional problems at JPL delaying the launch of Psyche.^[3][4][5][6] The mission's Principal Investigator Suzanne Smrekar has counterproposed a November 2029 launch date, which she argued would require only modest "bridge" funding and compared to the 2031 option would offer lower overall cost and fewer conflicts with DAVINCI and EnVision; this position obtained endorsement by a Congressional committee in October 2023.^[2]