Nasa plans to return to Venus with two separate missions

Nasa is returning to Venus for the first time in more than three decades to gain a better understanding of the history of what scientists believe could have been the first habitable planet in the solar system.

Plans for two separate and ambitious deep space missions to Earth’s nearest neighbour were announced last Wednesday by the head of the US space agency, Bill Nelson. Launches were targeted for a 2028-2030 timeframe, he said.

Nasa has set aside $1bn for the two ventures, which will be the first US exploration of the planet since 1989.