Venus Express

European Union probe to Venus, with the primary mission of studying the atmosphere and space environment of the planet.

Payloads carried included:

• VMC - Venus Monitoring Camera
• VIRTIS - ultraviolet-visible-infrared imaging spectrometer
• SPICAV - solar-stellar ultraviolet/infrared spectrometer,
• PFS infrared planetary Fourier spectrometer
• ASPERA plasma instrument
• VERA - Venus Radio Science instrument
• Magnetometer.

• 2005 November 9 - Venus Express - Launch Site: Baikonur. Launch Vehicle: Soyuz FG. Mass: 1,270 kg (2,790 lb).

  Launch delayed from October 26. The Soyuz placed the probe and Fregat upper stage into a 30 km x 190 km x 51.6 deg orbit around the earth. At apogee the Fregat stage made a 50 m/s maneuver to circularize the orbit. At the appropriate moment in this parking orbit, the Fregat fired again, then separated from the now Venus-bound probe at 05:11 GMT. Venus Express passed lunar orbit on November 10 at 10:10 GMT and went into a 0.702 AU x 0.993 AU x 0.26 deg inclination solar orbit. It was to brake itself into a 250 km x 326,550 km x 89.7 deg orbit around Venus on 11 April 2006 at 08:40 GMT. Two maneuvers would put in its final 24-hour Venus orbit of 282 x 66,911 km x 90.0 deg on 30 April. This was selected to synchronise the satellite with tracking stations on earth, while the planet slowly revolves below its perigee point over the following several months.

• 2006 April 11 - Venus Express, Venus Orbit Insertion -

• 2006 July 4 - Venus Express, Science Phase Begins -