Venus Life Finder Missions Motivation and Summary
Sara Seager, Janusz J. Petkowski, Christopher E. Carr, David Grinspoon, B. L. Ehlmann, Sarag J. Saikia, Rachana Agrawal, Weston P. Buchanan, Monika Weber, Richard French, Pete Klupar, S. Pete Worden, Darrel Baumgardner, on behalf of the Venus Life Finder Mission Team
Abstract
Finding evidence of extraterrestrial life would be one of the most profound scientific discoveries ever made, advancing humanity into a new epoch of cosmic awareness. The Venus Life Finder (VLF) missions feature a series of three direct atmospheric probes designed to assess the habitability of the Venusian clouds and search for signs of life and life itself. The VLF missions are an astrobiology-focused set of missions, and the first two out of three can be launched quickly and at a relatively low cost. The mission concepts come out of an 18-month study by an MIT-led worldwide consortium.