WEBVTT

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- If you're a Venus nerd like me,

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I've got some bad news for you.

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NASA just delayed a
highly anticipated mission

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to our neighboring planet by
three years, three whole years.

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VERITAS was originally
scheduled to launch in 2027

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on a mission to map the surface of Venus

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and study its atmosphere.

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Its delay is meant to free up resources

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at NASA's JPL like staff and budget

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to work on other missions

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that are further along
in their development.

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The decision was a result of
an independent review board

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looking at the delay
of another NASA mission

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to study a metal-rich
asteroid called Psyche.

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The report found some major
institutional problems at JPL

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that went far beyond
just that one mission.

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Unfortunately, the mission to Venus

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had to suffer the consequences,

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which is heartbreaking for scientists

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studying the hellish planet
and in need of some new data.

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NASA's last mission to Venus
arrived at the planet in 1989

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and wrapped up its science
operations in 1994.

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Since then, scientists have
been thirsty for more data

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on Venus' atmosphere and
hell-like conditions,

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especially considering
that Earth and Venus

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share the same size, mass, and density,

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and may have started off
being very similar planets,

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but then Venus became the
solar system's inferno

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with temperatures that reach
880 degrees Fahrenheit.

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So what happened to Venus
that made it Earth's evil twin

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and will our own planet
suffer the same fate?

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We'll have to wait an extra three years

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to answer these types of questions.

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To read more about this
story, check out gizmodo.com.