EnVision
| Mission type | Venus orbiter | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | European Space Agency | ||||||||||
| Website | esa.int/.../Envision | ||||||||||
| Mission duration | 4.5 years (planned) | ||||||||||
| Spacecraft properties | |||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Thales Alenia Space | ||||||||||
| Launch mass | 2,607 kg (5,747 lb) | ||||||||||
| Dry mass | 1,277 kg (2,815 lb) | ||||||||||
| Payload mass | 255 kg (562 lb) | ||||||||||
| Power | 2.35 kW | ||||||||||
| Start of mission | |||||||||||
| Launch date | December 2031 (planned) | ||||||||||
| Rocket | Ariane 64 | ||||||||||
| Launch site | Kourou ELA-4 | ||||||||||
| Contractor | Arianespace | ||||||||||
| Venus orbiter | |||||||||||
| Orbital insertion | 2034 | ||||||||||
| Orbital parameters | |||||||||||
| Pericytherion altitude | 220 km (140 mi) | ||||||||||
| Apocytherion altitude | 470 km (290 mi) | ||||||||||
| Transponders | |||||||||||
| Band | X-band, Ka-band | ||||||||||
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EnVision is an orbital mission to Venus being developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) that is planned to perform high-resolution radar mapping and atmospheric studies. EnVision is designed to help scientists understand the relationships between its geological activity and the atmosphere, and it will investigate why Venus and Earth took different evolutionary paths. The probe was selected as the fifth medium mission (M5) of ESA's Cosmic Vision programme in June 2021, with launch planned for December 2031. The mission will be conducted in collaboration with NASA.