Venera-D

Venera-D (Венера-Д, vjɪˈnjɛrə ˈdɛ) is a proposed Russian space mission to Venus that would include an orbiter and a lander to be launched in 2029. The orbiter's prime objective is to perform observations with the use of a radar. The lander, based on the Venera design, would be capable of operating for a long duration (≈3 h) on the planet's surface. The "D" in Venera-D stands for "dolgozhivuschaya," which means "long lasting" in Russian. Venera-D will be the first Venus probe launched by the Russian Federation (the earlier Venera probes were launched by the former Soviet Union). Venera-D will serve as the flagship for a new generation of Russian-built Venus probes, culminating with a lander capable of withstanding the harsh Venusian environment for more than the 1 hours logged by the Soviet probes. The surface of Venus experiences average temperatures of , crushing pressures, and corroding clouds of carbon dioxide laced with sulfuric acid. Venera-D will be launched on an Angara A5 rocket. In 2003, Venera-D was proposed to the Russian Academy of Sciences for its "wish list" of science projects to be included into the Federal Space Program in 2006–2015. During the formulation of the mission concept in 2004, the launch of Venera-D was expected in 2013 and its landing on the surface of Venus in 2014. In its original conception, it had a large orbiter, a sub-satellite, two balloons, two small landers, and a large long-lived lander (≈3 h). By 2011, the mission had been pushed back to 2018, and scaled back to an orbiter with a subsatellite orbiter, and a single lander with an expected 3-hour operation time. By the beginning of 2011, the Venera-D project entered Phase A (Preliminary Design) stage of development. Following the loss of the Phobos-Grunt spacecraft in November 2011 and resulting delays in all Russian planetary projects (with the exception of ExoMars, a joint effort with the European Space Agency), the implementation of the project was again delayed to no earlier than 2026.