NASA’s Proposed EVE Mission Aims to Solve the Radius Valley Mystery
NASA is considering a new mission called the Early eVolution Explorer (EVE) to investigate why there is a 'radius valley' gap in the size distribution of known exoplanets. The mission aims to determine whether this gap is caused by atmospheric stripping of gas-dwarfs or fundamental differences in planetary composition.
Why it matters
Understanding the formation and evolution of exoplanets helps scientists refine models of planetary development and the potential for life in the universe.
A debate has been raging amongst planetary scientists for over a decade - why are there so few exoplanets with a radius of about 1.8 times that of the Earth? Exoplanets are currently largely grouped into two distinct groups - “super Earth” are below that size and have rocky interiors, whereas “Sub-Neptunes” are above that size limit and appear “puffier.” But we don’t really understand what about the path of planetary evolution forces this bifurcation. A new mission proposal, called the Early eVolution Explorer (EVE) wants to find out, and a draft of its concept can be found in pre-print form on arXiv.
The content is purely scientific and descriptive, focusing on astronomical hypotheses and mission proposals.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in