NASA plans to launch the DAVINCI mission to Venus in 2029. The upcoming journey is outlined in a new paper, one that has the potential to shed light on the planet's mysterious, and potentially habitable, past.

It is expected that when the probe arrives at Venus, it will plunge through Venus' atmosphere and absorb its gas for one hour before landing on the surface of Venus, according to the paper published in The Planetary Science Journal.

The DAVINCI mission is designed to act as a flying laboratory, analyzing the atmosphere, temperature, pressure, and wind speed of Venus while taking photos of its sojourn throughout planetary hell.

DAVINCI is an acronym for Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble Gases, Chemistry, and Imaging. It is one of three missions planned for Venus, much to the delight of Venus fans like me. And truthfully, it has been a long time coming.

NASA's last mission to Venus, Magellan, landed on the planet in 1989 and ended science operations in 1994. In the years since, NASA has not sent any specialized missions to Venus, despite the planet being, like, super hot-literally and metaphorically.

Scientists can gain a deeper understanding of our planet by studying Venus. Venus and Earth appear to have originated similarly. Both planets share the same size, mass, and density.

Venus is 38 million miles away, so DAVINCI will travel to Venus approximately 61 million kilometers. The spacecraft will first fly by the planet twice, with the first flyby taking place 6.5 months after launch.

There might have been some incident during Venus' early history that caused it to develop such inhospitable conditions and to end up so much like Earth.

Today, Venus boasts temperatures of up to 880 degrees Fahrenheit (471 degrees Celsius), accompanied by an atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide that traps heat on a similar mechanism to greenhouse gases on Earth. Additionally, it boasts an eerie volcanic landscape.

This spacecraft will analyze Venus’ clouds during its flybys and measure the amount of ultraviolet radiation absorbed by its day side as well as the amount of heat emitted by its night side (Venus is not tidally locked, but its rotation rate is very slow).

Scientists are curious to learn whether Venus was ever habitable, despite the planet's current unsuitability for life.

Scientists claimed that Venus may have signs of life in its clouds in September 2020 based on the detection of phosphide in Venus' atmosphere. Phosphine serves as Earth's biosignature gas.

The results, however, were widely criticized. The habitability of Venus during its past depends on whether it once hosted oceans of liquid water or whether it had a dense, steamy atmosphere similar to Earth's.