The space company Rocket Lab aims to launch the first private mission to another planet, which would hunt for life on Venus and blaze a new trail for commercial space entities in deep space exploration. 

Peter Beck, CEO of Rocket Lab, has discussed his vision of a Venus mission before, but a new study outlines the plan in more detail and confirms that the probe could blast off as early as May 2023 on the company's lightweight Electron rocket.  

After a five-month cruise to Venus, Rocket Lab's Photon spacecraft will drop off a small instrument that will descend for several minutes through the planet's turbulent skies, which some scientists have speculated could host life, before kaputing on its surface, which is a torture pit of searing temperatures and crushing pressures.