Rocket Lab plans to launch the Rocket Lab Mission to Venus, a privately funded mission to search for evidence of life in the atmosphere of Venus. The launch is scheduled for December 30, 2024.

The mission will send a small spacecraft equipped with an autofluorescence nephelometer to detect organic compounds in droplets in the clouds of Venus. It will collect data during descent through the planet's upper atmosphere before reaching its limit of 20 atmospheres of pressure.

Rocket Lab aims to demonstrate the feasibility of low-cost interplanetary missions and hopes to generate more interest in this type of mission. The company's use of existing designs and hardware from a previous mission to the moon helps keep costs down.