VENUSIAN
Volcanic Emission iNvestigation Utilizing Single-particle In-situ Automated Nephelometry
PI: Prof. Christopher E. Carr
Start Date: January 2021
Current Status: Instrument in validation; planned launch of the Rocket Lab Mission to Venus in 2026
Launch Provider: Rocket Lab (first mission)
Team: Christopher E. Carr (PI), Snigdha Nellutla (Graduate Student), Cassius Tunis (Undergraduate/Graduate Student), Violet Oliver (Undergraduate), Michael Rhodes (Staff Engineer), Eric Frew (Co-I), Jenna Cooper (Graduate Student/Pilot), Madison Ritsch (Graduate Student/Pilot), Ted Fisher (Staff Engineer), Iaroslav Iakubivskyi (Postdoc), Darrel Baumgardner (Co-I), Sara Seager (Co-I), Margaret Tolbert (Co-I).
Background: While the clouds of Venus are too dry and too acidic for life as we know it, the clouds may harbor organic carbon chemistry derived from meteoritic input or other sources, which could help to explain several longstanding mysteries of the Venus atmosphere. The Rocket Lab Mission to Venus will seek evidence of a carbon cycle in the Venus clouds using the Autofluorescence Nephelometer (AFN). The AFN will measure single particle size, shape (sphericity, a measure of whether particles are liquid or solid), and fluorescence, as well as multi-particle refractive index (proxy for composition). On Earth, sulfuric acid aerosols play an important role in climate and result in part from volcano-emitted sulfur dioxide that is oxidized to sulfuric acid. Recent evidence suggests that volcanos can also emit sulfur in the form of sulfuric acid aerosols directly; due to difficulty in measuring sulfate aerosols, total volcanic sulfur emissions may be underestimated as much as 40%.
Science Goals: We seek to improve science return from the Rocket Lab Mission to Venus and to demonstrate a proof of principle for improving knowledge of sulfuric acid emissions and impacts on Earth.
Objectives: (1) Carry out systems-level test of AFN data collection near an active volcano. (2) execute lab studies to assist in interpreting Venus data and implications for Earth.
Progress: Our first field study was conducted in Hawaii in March 2025, with two successful flights collecting AFN data, one of which happened to occur during a significant eruption at the nearby Kilauea volcano.
Presentation: Nellutla S, Tunis CB, Choi-Slattery K, Frew EW, Rhodes M, Baumgardner D, Fisher T, Iakubivskyi I, Panda P, Moore R, Jansen K, Tolbert K, Petkowski JJ, Seager S, Carr CE. Volcanic Emission iNvestigation Utilizing Single-particle In-situ Automated Nephelometry. Planetary Science Technology Symposium, Cleveland, OH, October 21-24, 2024 (poster) https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/Wednesday_Poster_Nellutla.pdf
For more information: Morning Star Missions to Venus
Funding: Supported by NASA’s PSTAR program (Award # 80NSSC24K1260) to C.E.C.