Project Scope
The Venus Instrumented Descent Probe project is a
University of Idaho senior design project sponsored by NASA Ames Research
Center. NASA Ames is one of the nation’s premiere research centers. NASA Ames
creates many partnerships with leading universities, bringing the scientific and
corporate communities together in efforts to advance human knowledge and explore
the unknown. NASA Ames conducts the fundamental research and technology
development that make NASA missions possible.
The senior design project is integrated with the Idaho
RISE (Research Involving Student Engineers and Educators) program, which is
funded by the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The goal of the Idaho RISE program
is to develop the capability to design, build, test, fly, and recover high
altitude science and engineering instrumentation.
The probe will be launched into the Earth’s upper
atmosphere by a high-altitude helium balloon. The probe will be released at a
predetermined altitude and parachute back to ground. During the flight,
atmospheric data will be collected by various sensors onboard such as
accelerometers, temperature gauges, etc. The data will be stored onboard as well
as transmitted to ground in real time. The results from this project will
contribute to the design and capabilities of a future NASA mission to Venus.
