Venus Express in Orbit Around Venus
Posted on: Tuesday, 11 April 2006, 12:00 CDT
The European Space Agency's Venus Express ended its 153-day, 249-million-mile cruise to the inner solar system Tuesday and began orbiting Venus.
The Paris-based ESA said the spacecraft, launched Nov. 9, fired its main engine at 3:17 a.m. EDT for a 50-minute burn, which slowed it from 18,000 mph and into orbit.
During the next month, the Venus Express spacecraft will perform a series of maneuvers to reach its operational orbit. It will move from a highly elongated 9-day orbit to a 24-hour polar orbit, culminating at 41,000 miles.
The orbiter will then conduct in-depth observations of the structure, chemistry and dynamics of the atmosphere of Venus for at least two Venusian days -- 486 Earth days.
With the arrival of Venus Express, ESA is the only space agency to have science operations under way around four planets: Venus, the moon, Mars and Saturn, said David Southwood, ESA's director of science programs. We are really proud to deliver such a capability to the international science community.
Source: United Press International
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