Monday, May 5, 2008

Venus Express

Venus Express is the first Venus exploration mission of the European Space Agency. It is currently in orbit around Venus and collecting scientific data

The mission was proposed in 2001 to reuse the design of the Mars Express mission.

It was launched by a Soyuz-Fregat rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 9 November 2005 into a parking Earth orbit and 1 h 36 min after launch put into its transfer orbit to Venus.

It arrived at Venus on April 11, 2006, after approximately 150 days of journey, and fired its main engine to reduce its velocity so that it could be captured by Venusian gravity into a nine day orbit.

The burn was monitored from ESA's Control Centre, ESOC, in Darmstadt, Germany.

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