Venus: Evolution Through Time

Venus is a scientifically rich target for exploration.The evolution of Venus is, at present, poorly known, despite it being our closest planetary neighbor. This book reviews current knowledge of how Venus formed, evolved, and reached its current state. It is not clear how its tectonic and volcanic activity has varied through history, nor whether it once had a habitable phase with liquid water on its surface. Science questions addressed in the book span interior processes, surface geology, the atmosphere, climate, evidence for current activity, and the potential for past habitability.

Venus is also critical to planetary sciences in a broader sense. What lessons can we learn about the history of life and habitability on Earth-sized planets and terrestrial planets in general, whether in our solar system or elsewhere? The book addresses how increased study of Venus will also advance our understanding of critical questions for astrobiology, comparative planetology, and the processes that shaped the early Earth.

New discoveries and analyses of recent space missions, have yielded a wealth of new insights into the evolution of Venus. This book outlines how upcoming missions and related investigations will provide data needed to piece back together what caused Earth and Venus to evolve so differently.

Reprinted from Space Science Reviews Topical Collection "Venus: Evolution Through Time".

Dr. Thomas Widemann is a Senior Research Scientist at the Laboratory of Instrumentation and Research in Astrophysics (LIRA) of the Paris Observatory. Focusing on planetary studies using UV, visible, and infrared spectroscopy, he developed outstanding techniques combining simultaneous space and ground-based observations to study the climate and dynamics of planetary atmospheres. He received his doctorate degree in Astrophysics and Space Science from Paris University, followed by a postdoc at CNES and Associated Professorship at Université de Versailles. He was Venus Express Support Investigator, and co-led the EnVision mission proposal to ESA’s Cosmic Vision. He is also co-investigator of the VERITAS mission to Venus and co-Lead Scientist of the EnVision/VenSpec-M instrument. He was recently elected corresponding member of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA).

Dr. Colin Wilson is a planetary scientist with particular expertise in atmospheres of Venus and Mars. He has developed instruments and mission concepts for future planetary exploration, including wind sensors for Mars landers, wind sensors for the Titan Dragonfly mission, together with the Johns Hopkins University / Applied Physics Lab, and Venus mission proposals including the EnVision Venus Orbiter. He used Venus Express data to study cloud properties, winds and radiative balance on Venus. Dr. Wilson is the European Space Agency’s Project Scientist for Mars Express and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter missions.

Prof. Doris Breuer is head of the Planetary Physics Department at DLR, Institute of Planetary Research in Berlin and Associated Professor at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris. She works on the thermochemical evolution, mantle dynamics and internal structure of planetary bodies. She received her doctoral degree at the University in Münster, Germany and worked as a postdoc in Minneapolis, USA before she went back to the University of Münster and then to DLR in Berlin. She has been scientifically involved in several space missions and is currently co-investigator on VERITAS and for the VenSpec Suite on EnVision. She further participates in BepiColombo, the ESA/JAXA mission to Mercury and JUICE an ESA mission to Ganymede.

Dr. Cedric Gillmann is a researcher at ETH Zurich whose interests gravitate around planetary processes that affect long-term evolution and habitability of terrestrial planets, with an eye for all types of exchanges between their interior, surface and atmosphere. He “met” Venus during his PhD at IPGP in Paris and has never looked back. Since then, he has worked at the Royal Observatory of Belgium, the Free University of Brussels, Rice University in Houston and ETH Zurich. He is involved in the ESA EnVision mission, as part of the science support team for the Radio Science Experiment and Collaborator for the VenSpec Suite

Dr. Sue Smrekar is a Senior Research Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Her research focuses on how Venus and Earth evolved down such different paths, and how interior processes link to surface geology, the atmosphere, and long-term habitability. She has worked on numerous planetary missions, including as the Project Scientist for Deep Space 2, Deputy Project Scientist for Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, participating scientist on Venus Express, and Deputy Principal Investigator for the InSight mission to Mars. She is the PI for the VERITAS mission to Venus. She is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA).

Prof. Tilman Spohn was a professor at the University of Münster (1984-2016), Germany, and the director of the DLR Institute of Planetary Research from 2003-2017. He served as executive director of ISSI 2019-2022. His research focuses on the thermodynamics of the interiors of rocky and icy planets, moons and small bodies and the link to life in the solar system and beyond. He received his diploma and doctorate degrees in geophysics from Frankfurt University. He has worked on various missions serving as instrument PI for MUPUS on Rosetta and HP3 on InSight. He is a member of the Academia Europaea and the Academy of Astronautics.