Venus was once considered a twin to Earth, as it's roughly the same size and is relatively close to our planet. But once astronomers looked at it seriously in the past half-century or so, a lot of contrasts emerged. The biggest ...
Space Exploration
Feb 23, 2015
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It was a hell of a ride to our hellish sister planet. Eight long years of studying Venus is way more than ESA scientists were expected from its mission. Venus Express spacecraft that launched on Nov. 9, 2005 and entered the ...
Space Exploration
Feb 3, 2015
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This ghostly puff of smoke is actually a mass of swirling gas and cloud at Venus' south pole, as seen by the Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer (VIRTIS) aboard ESA's Venus Express spacecraft.
Space Exploration
Jan 20, 2015
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Back in 2010, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the The Venus Climate Orbiter "Akatsuki" with the intention of learning more about the planet's weather and surface conditions. Unfortunately, due to ...
Space Exploration
Jan 7, 2015
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ESA's Venus Express has ended its eight-year mission after far exceeding its planned life. The spacecraft exhausted its propellant during a series of thruster burns to raise its orbit following the low-altitude aerobraking ...
Space Exploration
Dec 17, 2014
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Most of us have seen the aurora borealis, also called the northern lights, which paint the night sky with a multi-colored glow. These ghostly lights also show up in the southern hemisphere. But the light show on Venus is ...
Space Exploration
Dec 3, 2014
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It's been an interesting year for Venus Express. A few months ago, controllers deliberately dipped the spacecraft into the atmosphere of the planet—for science purposes, of course. The daring maneuver was approved because ...
Space Exploration
Nov 28, 2014
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As the end of its eight-year adventure at Venus edges ever closer, ESA scientists have been taking a calculated risk with the Venus Express spacecraft in order to carry out unique observations of the planet's rarefied outer ...
Space Exploration
Nov 12, 2014
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Is it snowing metal on Venus? Erika Kohler is trying to find out.
Space Exploration
Oct 3, 2014
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ESA's Venus Express spacecraft has climbed to a new orbit following its daring aerobraking experiment, and will now resume observations of this fascinating planet for at least a few more months.
Space Exploration
Jul 29, 2014
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