The planetary science community has consistently identified Venus as a high-priority destination for scientific exploration.
The discovery of phosphine in the upper clouds in Venus’ atmosphere has generated a lot of excitement. On Earth, phosphine is produced by living organisms or by humans using an energy source. To determine the source of phosphine on Venus requires sending probes to explore the Venusian atmosphere. This is where Black Swift Technologies enters the picture.
Black Swift Technologies received funding from NASA to develop an unmanned vehicle that could navigate Venus’ atmosphere while gathering data. The proposed vehicle would take advantage of Venus’ winds to harness enough energy to fly.
“While there have been a variety of systems proposed for upper atmospheric observations of Venue, the planet’s high wind speeds pose a significant design challenge,” emphasizes Jack Elston, Ph.D., CEO Black Swift Technologies. “Our solution will be designed to not only survive in the harsh wind environment, but also simultaneously perform targeted sampling of the atmosphere while continuously extracting energy, even on the dark side of the planet.”
By studying the winds of Venus, NASA hopes to better understand the chemistry, dynamics, and cloud processes of Venus’ atmosphere. This research could also help determine if the planet once had liquid water, and even life, on its surface.
“Our solution will be designed to not only survive in the harsh wind environment, but also simultaneously perform targeted sampling of the atmosphere while continuously extracting energy, even on the dark side of the planet.”
Jack Elston, Ph.D.
CEO, Black Swift Technologies