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Synergies between Venus & Exoplanetary Observations
  • +9
  • Michael Way,
  • Colby Ostberg,
  • Bradford J Foley,
  • Cedric Gillmann,
  • Höning Dennis,
  • Helmut Lammer,
  • Joseph O'Rourke,
  • Moa Persson,
  • Plesa Ana-Catalina,
  • Arnaud Salvador,
  • Scherf Manuel,
  • Matthew Weller
Michael Way
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Colby Ostberg
University of California Riverside
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Bradford J Foley
The Pennsylvania State University
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Cedric Gillmann
Rice University
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Höning Dennis
POTSDAM INSTITUTE FOR CLIMATE IMPACT RESEARCH
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Helmut Lammer
Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences
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Joseph O'Rourke
Arizona State University
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Moa Persson
Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie
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Plesa Ana-Catalina
Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt
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Arnaud Salvador
University of Arizona
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Scherf Manuel
Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences
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Matthew Weller
Lunar and Planetary Institute
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Abstract

In this chapter we examine how our knowledge of present day Venus can inform terrestrial exoplanetary science and how exoplanetary science can inform our study of Venus. In a superficial way the contrasts in knowledge appear stark. We have been looking at Venus for millennia and studying it via telescopic observations for centuries. Spacecraft observations began with Mariner 2 in 1962 when we confirmed that Venus was a hothouse planet, rather than the tropical paradise science fiction pictured. As long as our level of exploration and understanding of Venus remains far below that of Mars, major questions will endure. On the other hand, exoplanetary science has grown leaps and bounds since the discovery of Pegasus 51b in 1995, not too long after the golden years of Venus spacecraft missions came to an end with the Magellan Mission in 1994. Multi-million to billion dollar/euro exoplanet focused spacecraft missions such as JWST, ARIEL and their successors will be flown in the coming decades. At the same time, excitement about Venus exploration is blooming again with a number of confirmed and proposed missions in the coming decades from India, Russia, Japan, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In this chapter, we review what is known and what we may discover tomorrow in complementary studies of Venus and its exoplanetary cousins.