Abstract: One of the most fundamental conundra in planetary science is the origin and evolution of both the similarities and differences of Earth and Venus. Similar in size, density, and position in the Solar System, they currently differ fundamentally in their atmospheric characteristics and historical geological records. Forward-modeling of Venus' atmospheric evolution suggests a more Earth-like earlier evolution, with oceans and more clement conditions, and a "Great Climate Transition" leading to its decidedly un-Earth-like current state. This transition has been suggested to occur geologically recently, during the latest ~20% of Venus history, coincident with tessera formation and regional plains emplacement. Evidence has been cited to support significant erosional unroofing of tessera terrain and deposition of resulting sediment in the surrounding lowlands, and hypotheses call on Large Igneous Province-scale volcanic eruptions to cause the "Great Climate Transition". We examine the global geological record revealed by previous Venus missions and address the following questions:

1. Does inverse modeling of the Venus atmosphere support a "Great Climate Transition" occurring during the observed geological history?
2. Do existing data support significant aqueous erosional unroofing of the tessera terrain coincident and following its formation?
3. What is the origin of the loose sediment and bedrock observed by the Venera landers?

Abstract: Early studies of Venus' surface and interior, in the immediate aftermath of the Magellan spacecraft mission, hypothesized that Venus today is "dry" and "dead", i.e., depleted in interior water, and volcanically inactive following planet-wide cataclysmic eruptions ~500 Myr ago. Over the past decade, these previous notions of a "dry" planet have been challenged by numerous works which collectively argue for a volatile-rich lower mantle. Furthermore, a recent study, Herrick and Hensley (2023), paints a picture of Venus as a volcanically active world. From understanding the evolution and habitability of rocky planets, to gaining insights into processes that occur in extreme environments on Earth, investigating the volcanic modification of Venus has a wide range of implications beyond improving our current state of knowledge of the planet. In this talk, I will discuss studies of volcanism on Venus with specific emphasis on models and tools for investigating past and potentially ongoing eruptions on Venus. I will elaborate on how such studies fit the interests of the broader planetary and Earth science community and support the upcoming missions to Venus.

Abstract: Understanding a planet requires understanding its atmosphere, and the molecules within it. Clara's work uses a combination of organic chemistry and quantum mechanics as tools for the interpretation of astrophysical spectra and, ultimately, for the potential detection of life on another planet. In this talk, Clara draws on her experience investigating strange molecules on strange planets to present her favorite potential biosignature: phosphine, a terrifying gas associated with mostly unpleasant life.

Abstract (1st presentation): Exoplanet atmospheric parameters retrieval is a complex, computationally intensive, inverse modeling problem, in which an exoplanet's atmospheric composition is extracted from an observed spectrum. Traditional Bayesian sampling methods require extensive time and computation and are thus impractical for use in space missions. The Atmospheric Retrievals Generative Adversarial Network (ARvGAN), is a deep convolutional generative adversarial network capable of high accuracy retrievals in near-real-time. We demonstrate the efficacy of artificial intelligence to quickly and reliably predict atmospheric parameters. In addition to its broad applicability across instruments and planetary types, ARvGAN has been designed to function on low-power application-specific integrated circuits allowing for real or near-real-time quantification of atmospheric constituents at the instrument level. With the edge computing chip implementation, a specialized model for the DAVINCI mission, the Venus Investigation of unknown absorbers Through Ultra-violet to Visible Imaging Atmospheric parameters inference Generative Adversarial Network (VITRUVIAN GAN), is under development to reduce the downlinked data volume from the Compact Ultraviolet to Visible Imaging Spectrometer (CUVIS) onboard the DAVINCI mission to Venus.

Abstract (2nd Presentation): The Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging (DAVINCI) mission will study the Venus atmosphere in unprecedented detail, revealing the origin, evolution and present state of Venus. Significant to this exploration is the ability to study atmospheric interaction with Venus' minerology through experimentation. A brief overview of chemical cycles relevant to DAVINCI measurements and analyses is provided to place results from Venus In-Situ experiments into context.

Abstract: I will present a new analysis of mass spectra obtained by the Pioneer Venus (PV) Large Probe Neutral Mass Spectrometer (LNMS). To analyze the data, I and my co-authors constructed an analytical model that yields CO2 abundances in units of density (kg m-3) and affords disentanglement of isobaric species through a statistically rooted data fitting routine.

Abstract: With three new Venus missions recently announced by NASA and ESA, attention is once more turning to the second planet. In the past few years, a view has emerged of a much more dynamic world than we once thought. In this talk, I'll present some new insights from recent studies I've led regarding the planet's volcanic, tectonic, and dynamic characteristics to understand Venus' past and present-which can be tested by those new missions.