These 5 Venus missions could launch in the next decade to study Earth's 'evil twin'

Artist's illustration of Rocket Lab's planned Venus probe approaching the second planet from the sun.

Venus just lost its last active spacecraft, but more might be coming in a few years.

The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency's Akatsuki mission orbiting Venus was declared dead last week after engineers spent more than a year trying to get in touch with the silent spacecraft. Akatsuki spent a decade orbiting the planet and was well beyond its design lifetime when its mission ended, giving unprecedented looks at the hellish atmosphere of Venus.