VERITAS and EnVision

[vjkane]

The  Planetary Science Advisory Committee has issued it's latest findings https://science.nasa.gov/science-pink/s3fs-public/atoms/files/Dec%202022%20PAC%20Findings_Final.pdf (advise to NASA) which includes the following on VERITAS:

2) VERITAS delay decision Finding: The PAC recognizes that VERITAS will provide important new science results about Venus that are complementary to other recently selected Venus missions. The decision to delay VERITAS’s launch has been met with significant disappointment in the planetary science community and raised concerns and fears regarding the potential need for additional mitigation measures impacting VERITAS and other NASA efforts in the future. The PAC also notes the negative impact of standing down a selected mission due to external issues on potential PIs and on scientists’ participation in future missions. However, the PAC recognizes that the circumstances surrounding the Psyche delay had created great stress on JPL personnel and on the PSD budget that must be mitigated in some way. We thank PSD and the IRB chair for the detailed presentation of the broader issues that led to the decision to stand down VERITAS.

Recommendation: Both the PAC and the AGs strongly support launch of VERITAS on its new schedule, or sooner, should the situation allow. We request that the process for restarting VERITAS and the metrics that will be used to support this decision be clearly defined and communicated to the community as soon as possible. Finally, we strongly support the importance of competitive selections in the Discovery program. As a result, the PAC recommends that the launch of VERITAS should be prioritized over a possible new Discovery mission selection. In the event that the budget is a limitation in future years, Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey guidelines for dealing with budget shortfalls should be
followed.

As I understand this, this is the official advisory committee to NASA for the planetary exploration program. My understanding is that NASA's managers will take this recommendation seriously.

[vjkane]

The Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Sciences has issued it's latest findings

This is the Planetary Science Advisory Committee (PAC), which is part of the NASA Advisory Council.

https://science.nasa.gov/researchers/nac/science-advisory-committees/pac

That is not the same as the Committee on Astrobiology and Planetary Sciences (CAPS), which is a subset of the Space Studies Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

I stand corrected and have modified the original post.