The Hindu : International : Probe enters Venus orbit

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 12, 2006

International

International

Probe enters Venus orbit

On a mission to explore atmosphere, climate of the Red Planet

DARMSTADT(Germany) : European scientists celebrated on Tuesday the successful entry into orbit of their Venus Express craft, pulling off a critical stage of their mission to explore the hostile climate and atmosphere of the earth's planetary neighbour.

Officials at the European Space Agency's control centre here cheered and embraced as a green line indicating a clear signal from the craft appeared on their screens, indicating it had completed the manoeuvre inserting it into orbit.

"It's a fantastic mission for us, we've finally reached Venus," said project manager Don McCoy .

A short while later, scientists received the first data from the probe and praised the technical phase of the Venus mission — ESA's fourth to a celestial body — as a success.

Over the next several weeks, scientists will begin turning on the seven scientific instruments and running them through tests. By June, they are expected to begin gathering information on how Venus, while similar to the earth in size and geological makeup, wound up with such a hot, dense atmosphere swathed in clouds of sulphuric acid.

South pole image

An initial image of Venus' south pole is expected on Thursday. The seven instruments aboard the euro220-million Venus Express craft include spectrometers to measure temperature and analyse the atmosphere and a special camera to concentrate on activity among Venus' many volcanoes.

Scientists hope the data received will help answer questions about why Venus wound up with an atmosphere almost 90 times denser than the earth's. Of key importance will be studying Venus' strong greenhouse effect — the way carbon dioxide traps the sun's heat — and the permanent hurricane force winds that constantly circle it.

Venus is the nearest planet to earth and the two share similar mass and density, both with inner cores of rock believed to have been formed at about the same time. Yet, the two have vastly different atmospheres, with Venus' made up almost entirely of carbon dioxide and very little water vapour.

Scientists hope the mission will provide answers. — AP

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