Introduction of the Venus Instrumentation for Thermophysics & Aerosciences (VISTA) Project for the NASA DA VINCI Mission to Venus

The NASA Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging (DAVINCI) mission is scheduled to launch in 2031 and explore Venus via two flybys, and a probe descent in 2033. A new supporting project has been created to provide engineering sensors for the DAVINCI probe aeroshell named Venus Instrumentation for Thermophysics and Aerosciences (VISTA). The VISTA project’s main objectives are to instrument the heatshield with thermocouples, and the backshell with a Schmidt-Boelter heat flux sensor. This paper will describe the overall VISTA effort to design, deliver, and support the safe integration of the sensors into the DAVINCI spacecraft.