ESA’s Venus Express spacecraft has climbed to a new orbit following its daring aerobraking experiment, and will now resume observations of this fascinating planet for at least a few more months.
The orbit-raising followed a month of aerobraking that saw the spacecraft surf in and out of the atmosphere at altitudes typically between 131 km and 135 km for a … Read the rest of this article
After eight years in orbit, ESA’s Venus Express has completed routine science observations and has spent the last month orbiting through the planet’s hostile atmosphere. Venus Express mission experts talk about surfing the Venus atmosphere. This Google Hangout originally took place on July 10th.
After eight years in orbit, ESA’s Venus Express has completed routine science observations and has spent the last month orbiting through the planet’s hostile atmosphere. Join Venus Express mission experts in their ESAhangout to talk about how to surf the Venus atmosphere.
The Hangout happens on Thursday, 10 July, 15:00 GMT (17:00 CEST).… Read the rest of this article
For the first time, ESA is providing regular space-weather reports for a spacecraft orbiting another planet.
When your spacecraft is surfing deep into the atmosphere of an alien world, you need the latest information on conditions that could affect your trajectory.
If that planet is Venus, that means knowing what’s happening on our Sun in real time, because solar activity … Read the rest of this article
After eight years in orbit, ESA’s Venus Express has completed routine science observations and is preparing for a daring plunge into the planet’s hostile atmosphere.
Venus Express was launched on a Soyuz–Fregat from the Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 9 November 2005, and arrived at Venus on 11 April 2006.
It has been orbiting Venus in an elliptical 24-hour … Read the rest of this article
The most detailed record of cloud motion in the atmosphere of Venus chronicled by ESA’s Venus Express has revealed that the planet’s winds have steadily been getting faster over the last six years.
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Examples of cloud features identified in Venus Express images and used to monitor wind speeds. Long-term studies based on tracking the motions of several hundred thousand cloud …
ESA’s Venus Express has made unique observations of Venus during a period of reduced solar wind pressure, discovering that the planet’s ionosphere balloons out like a comet’s tail on its nightside.
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The change in ionosphere of Venus during normal solar wind conditions (left) and reduced solar wind activity (right), as observed by ESA’s Venus Express spacecraft in August 2010. The …
Bright and dark cloud bands wind around the poles of Venus in this beautiful sequence tracked by ESA’s Venus Express as it makes a rollercoaster orbit around the planet.
We join the spacecraft from a staggering 66,000 km above the south pole, staring down into the swirling south polar vortex. From this bird’s-eye view, half of the planet is in … Read the rest of this article
Six years of observations by ESA’s Venus Express have shown large changes in the sulphur dioxide content of the planet’s atmosphere, and one intriguing possible explanation is volcanic eruptions.
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Artist’s impression of an active volcano on Venus. Results from a long-term study of Venus find evidence of a clear injection of sulphur dioxide into its upper atmosphere. One possible interpretation …
Clouds regularly punctuate Earth’s blue sky, but on Venus the clouds never part, for the planet is wrapped entirely in a 20 km-thick veil of carbon dioxide and sulphuric dioxide haze.
This view shows the cloud tops of Venus as seen in ultraviolet light by the Venus Express spacecraft on 8 December 2011, from a distance of about 30 000 … Read the rest of this article
The Sun Now (Visible light)
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The Sun Now (H-Alpha light)
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Aurora Oval
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Aurora Oval
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