venus express

[remcook]

Getting ready for launch:

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMMDL808BE_index_0.html

[remcook]

launvh delayed by a couple of days.
but getting pretty close now!

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM0CV3J2FE_index_0.html

[remcook]

launched!

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/venusexpress/051109launch.html
http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM56Q638FE_index_0.html

just wait half a year now!

[Astronuc]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_Express

Venus Express is the first Venus exploration mission of the European Space Agency. The mission was proposed in 2001 to reuse the design of the Mars Express mission. However, some mission characteristics led to design changes: primarily in the areas of thermal control, communications and electrical power. For example, since Mars is approximately twice as far from the Sun as Venus is, the heating of the spacecraft will be four times greater for Venus Express than Mars Express. Also, the ionizing radiation environment will be harsher. On the other hand, the more intense illumination of the solar panels will result in more generated photovoltaic power. The Venus Express mission also uses some spare instruments developed for the Rosetta spacecraft.

from Wikipedia

http://www.starsem.com/news/g15_1.htm - Starsem fearture on Venus

http://www.starsem.com/news/images/vex.pdf - pdf File on Venus express - lauch trajectory figure included.

 

[remcook]

the earth data cubes from VIRTIS look very promising! Imagine seeing all the cloud layers of venus with this! and even the surface!

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMOIGULWFE_index_0.html

[Orstio]

Orbital insertion coming up:

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMMM0NFGLE_index_0.html

[remcook]

engine burnm complete. it is looking good, but they are waiting from data from the HGA to see if the spacecraft is in good health. they should hear in a couple of minutes

[Astronuc]

Venus Express 'talks' to Earth
11 April 2006

At 11:12 CEST Venus Express re-established communication with Earth for the first time after the start of the orbit insertion manoeuvres.
 
After the end of the main engine burn, Venus Express still had to perform a few automatic operations. These included re-orienting the solar panels towards the Sun and one of its high gain antennas (the smaller High Gain Antenna 2) towards Earth.

It is through this antenna that the spacecraft established the first communication link with Earth and started to send back information about its health status. The spacecraft data are sent to ESA’s European Spacecraft Operations Centre (ESOC) via ESA’s Cebreros ground station near Madrid. The data downlink lasts for a few hours.

Information about Venus Express’ actual trajectory will be available from ESOC’s flight dynamics team around 12:30 CEST. 

[remcook]

did you see the new science update from ESA?

http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEM9A3XAIPE_index_0.html

quite spectacular images!

[Astronuc]

Probe peers into Venusian secrets
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6041570.stm

Venus is an enigma, wrapped in a mystery, inside a dense cloud of carbon dioxide (CO₂).

But a suite of orbiting instruments is proving its ability to penetrate the thick atmosphere and create a new and dynamic picture of Earth's sister planet.

Scientists at the Division of Planetary Sciences meeting in Pasadena, California, this week said that data streaming from the Venus Express probe had provided unprecedented detail of the Venusian atmosphere and the first-ever peek at its lower strata.

They hope the spacecraft will help answer fundamental questions about the planet's atmospheric composition and dynamics, as well as solve key Venus puzzles: what drives its "super-rotation"; are its volcanoes active; and just what is the strange ultraviolet-absorbing substance swirling at the cloud tops?

Mission guide: Venus Express
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4350482.stm
 

The European Space Agency's Venus Express mission will study the atmosphere and clouds of the planet nearest to Earth.
 
Scientists hope the probe will beam back the clearest-ever images of the planet and provide new insight into its atmosphere.

http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/area/index.cfm?fareaid=64
THE MISSION:

Venus Express is a follow on from the Mars Express mission. Many of the instruments on the mission are simply upgraded versions of those on the Mars Express platform. After a 153 day cruise to Venus the spacecraft entered Venusian orbit on 11 April 2006.

Report for Period 1 October to 7 October 2006
http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=40119