Rocket Lab\u2019s mission to Venus, which was originally scheduled to launch last month, is \u201cnot imminent,\u201d a spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch. That means the mission will likely move ahead no earlier than January 2025, the only publicly stated back-up window for launch.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur focus right now is on delivering customer missions as a priority,\u201d the spokesperson said. They did not provide any further reasons for the slip.<\/p>\n

Rocket Lab announced it would go to Venus last August, in what will be the first fully private mission to the yellow planet. The company will fund the mission, while a team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and other organizations contributed to the scientific payload. The company plans on using its small Electron rocket and Photon spacecraft to send a very tiny probe to around 30 feet above the surface of Venus, where atmospheric conditions are most similar to that of Earth.<\/p>\n

Indeed, everything about the mission is compact and ambitious. The probe, which will measure just 40 centimeters in diameter, will search for organic chemicals in Venus\u2019s clouds \u2013 or in other words, signs of life and suggestions of habitable conditions for supporting life. After spending only five minutes flying through the clouds, the probe will slowly lose altitude until it hits the surface of the Venus around an hour after atmospheric entry.<\/p>\n