NASA reported on September 24, 2026, that an engineering model of DAVINCI’s Venus descent probe completed six thermal-test runs at Rex Heat Treat in Bedford, Pennsylvania. During the August 28–September 10 campaign, the furnace brought the model to 465°C (869°F) over about an hour, and NASA said it completed all six runs without damage.
Six cycles tested DAVINCI’s descent heat profile
The test used a ceramic-lined furnace to reproduce the heating pace expected as the probe descends through Venus’s atmosphere. The roughly one-hour interval refers to the rise to 465°C. Jim Garvin, DAVINCI’s principal investigator, described the six runs as following a 55–60-minute descent timeline.
More than 100 thermal sensors monitored hardware simulating instruments inside the probe. That gave the team a way to track thermal conditions around instrument-like components during each run.
How the probe protects instruments while sampling Venus’s atmosphere
DAVINCI’s descent probe is designed to collect atmospheric data as it falls through Venus’s atmosphere. Its corrosion-resistant titanium shell protects the instruments from heat, while special inlet ports let Venusian gases in for study. The test focused on the probe’s thermal profile.
DAVINCI’s next mission milestone
NASA says the mission is working toward approval to enter final design and fabrication. The agency’s Discovery Program lists June 2029 as DAVINCI’s tentative launch date.
