Rocket Lab and MIT delay Venus probe until Neutron ready
Technology
Rocket Lab and MIT's big plan to send a probe to Venus is on pause for now. Their Neutron rocket isn't quite ready yet.
The mission, with Neutron originally expected to debut in 2024, hopes to launch from Virginia and drop a probe into Venus's atmosphere to hunt for signs of life.
Rocket Lab assembled probe in California
Even with the delay, progress hasn't stopped: NASA transferred the heat shield in March 2025, and Rocket Lab has finished assembling the probe in California.
Future missions under MIT's Venus Life Finder program will use even cooler tech, like molecular sensors, to dig deeper into whether something could be living in those wild Venus clouds.