Does Venus Have a Moon
Venus has no natural satellites. NASA and JPL list Venus as a planet with zero confirmed moons, making it one of only two planets in the solar system without a moon, alongside Mercury. The planet's slow retrograde rotation and strong atmospheric tides make long-term moon capture or stable orbit unlikely NASA Solar System Overview.
Past claims of a Venus moon, such as the 17th-century observation of "Neith," were later identified as background stars or telescope artifacts. No spacecraft, including Magellan, Venus Express, and MESSENGER, has detected a natural moon of Venus. Current planetary science models suggest that any temporary captured object would be unstable and quickly lost Britannica - Venus.
Known Moons of Venus and Orbital Data
Because Venus has no moon, there is no moon name, orbital period, semi-major axis, or mass to list. The table below shows the current count of known natural satellites for Venus compared with other inner planets. Earth has 1, Mars has 2, and Mercury has 0, matching Venus's count of 0 NASA NSSDCA Venus Fact Sheet.
Satellite Count for Inner Planets
| Planet | Known Moons |
|---|---|
| Mercury | 0 |
| Venus | 0 |
| Earth | 1 |
| Mars | 2 |
Future Missions and Venus Moon Search
Upcoming missions such as NASA's DAVINCI+ and ESA's EnVision focus on Venus's atmosphere and surface, not on moon detection. These missions will refine constraints on any undiscovered small moons or temporary captured asteroids. No current mission is designed to place a satellite in orbit around Venus NASA DAVINCI+ Mission.
Space agencies prioritize Venus because its extreme greenhouse conditions and geological history provide clues about rocky-planet evolution. The absence of a moon simplifies tidal models and interior structure studies for Venus. Any future discovery of a Venus moon would require independent confirmation by multiple observatories or spacecraft ESA Venus Express Archive.