So DAVINCI is a mission that does many things, but the primary
part of the mission is an entry descent science touchdown
through the entire cross-section of the atmosphere of Venus,
where the clouds start about 75km, that’s 230,000ft
above the surface of the landscapes and mountains below.
A return to the atmosphere
and surface for the first time by the United States since the late 70s.
Recently conducted a test in the Utah Test and Training Range,
which is managed by the United States
Army and Air Force in this beautiful part of western Utah.
This particular drop test, the first of many, will be helping
understand all the behavior of our spacecraft, our 1.1m diameter
titanium sphere filled with chemistry gear and imaging and other things.
A full spacecraft, kind of almost like a mini submarine.
And so last year in the Utah Test and Training Range, we dropped a test
probe from about 1.5km above the surface, dropped it as if we were on Venus.
And during that experiment, to understand dynamics of probes as they descend,
we collected images from which we constructed topographic maps
of these beautiful playa landscapes with sand dunes and other things
to reconstruct what the landscape looks like, as if we were going to Venus.
It worked beautifully, and the support of the Utah Test and Training Range
teams from the U.S.
Army and Air Force was phenomenal, and this will be the first of several tests
we do to understand how to get to know the real Venus up close
and in 3D, in ways that we will never be able to do from orbit.