The electrical design and development of the Venus Emissivity Mapper (VEM) for VERITAS and EnVision

The Venus Emissivity Mapper (VEM) is an IR-spectrometer designed to measure surface thermal radiation. The VEM’s electrical design is tailored to meet the unique requirements of two distinct missions: NASA/JPL’s VERITAS and ESA’s EnVision. The VEM must accommodate varying interface and environmental demands while maintaining high performance and reliability. This dual-mission approach presents significant challenges, including differing power, data handling interfaces, and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) environments. This paper discusses the differences between the two instrument variants in terms of interfaces and environmental constraints, provides an overview of the general electronics architecture, and highlights mission-specific adaptations. It further details the key challenges encountered during early development—particularly concerning the detector, FPGA and replacement of the hybrid DC-DC converter—before presenting the results of functional and performance tests.