In its long history of space exploration the United States has never had a robotic mission sent to the surface of Venus. Flybys, orbiting spacecraft, and atmospheric probes yes, but to date nothing from NASA has operated on the extreme, hellish surface of the second rock from the Sun. Russia, on the other hand, has successfully landed on Venus ten times, eight with its Venera program and the ninth and tenth in 1984–85 with the Vega 1 and 2 missions. Because of its long-running expertise, the U.S. is looking to partner with Russia on a brand-new Venera mission, Venera-D, which in 2025 would send an orbiter, a lander, and possibly even an inflatable airship to Venus to explore its exotic and overheated environments.

“While Venus is known as our ‘sister planet,’ we have much to learn, including whether it may have once had oceans and harbored life,” said Jim Green, NASA’s director of Planetary Science. “By understanding the processes at work at Venus and Mars, we will have a more complete picture about how terrestrial planets evolve over time and obtain insight into the Earth’s past, present and future.”

Read the full story from NASA here: NASA Studying Shared Venus Science Objectives with Russian Space Research Institute