ESA Venus Express Ready For Lift Off!

The ESA's latest mission is set to blast off aboard a Russian rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 26 October.

Venus Express will carry out the first global investigation of Venus' atmosphere, to shed light on how the planet evolved its hellish climate.

Orignally from BBC News
Europe is poised to send a spacecraft to Venus, our closest planetary neighbour and a hothouse world that has been described as Earth's "evil twin".

Venus Express will blast off aboard a Russian rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 26 October.

It will slip into orbit around Venus next year, using science instruments to study the planet from space.

Venus underwent runaway greenhouse warming, so experts think it may offer clues to how Earth will evolve.

Its great to see nations other than the US and Russia exploring our solar system!
The Russians and ESA seem to be doing alot of work together lately...watch out US...we might just beat you to Mars!!!


Mic

I'm looking forward to the infomation this probe sends back. No probes have been sent to Venus in a long time, it will be great if Venus express is as successfull as Mars express.

and the one that was sent there managed to land with help of a parachute in this "hellish atmosphere"

I like the fact that there sending probes to nearly all the planets. So we can expand our knowledge of our own solar system.

Cassini is/has been doing an amazing job, taking beautiful pictures of saturn and all of its moons. In a few months Nasa will launch the first probe ever to pluto. A Jupiter mission is in the planning stages. There's constantly newer better ones going to Mars. A few months ago Nasa launched "Messenger", a Mercury probe, which was done "on the cheap", using gravity assist from other planets, which is becoming the norm since agencies would rather wait longer for the data then spend additional millions for a larger rocket, so it will orbit Mercury in 2011. and so I'm glad ESA is sending one to Venus, so we can learn more about it as well, and of course get some more breath taking pics.

All thats left is Neptune & Uranus...Is it to late in the game to change its name???
In my view, Pluto is not a planet, I know they still claim it as one...but its on shaky ground, and If that 10th planetoid found isn't called a planet...then neither should pluto. and Then our solar system will have 8 planets...which is what it should be.

how long will it take for each probe to reach each planet?months?years?

Originally posted by BirDMan_X
how long will it take for each probe to reach each planet?months?years?

April 2006 according to the ESA website!

Remember Venus is closer to us than Mars!

Mic

Originally posted by Murcielago
And so I'm glad ESA is sending one to Venus, so we can learn more about it as well, and of course get some more breath taking pics.

Indeed...

The Esa's Mars Express has sent back IMO the best images of Mars we've ever seen from orbit!

The ESA have certainly proven their worth, sending probes millions of miles and being able to send back pictures of this quality...
Lets hope the Venus pictures are just as good!


Mic

Watch it sends back pictures of venus, and they discover earthlike Buildings "dun dun duuun". Hehe not really. But it would be cool none the less.

Originally posted by MickeyDee
The ESA have certainly proven their worth, sending probes millions of miles and being able to send back pictures of this quality...

My view of ESA is slowly improving, there doing pretty good with orbiters...but landers...thats another story. As for quality...Mars Express has done a good job and has taken some great pics, but I was very dissappointed from there Huygens lander, which landed on a saturn moon called Titan.

Originally posted by Murcielago
But I was very dissappointed from there Huygens lander

Come on mate...Titan is nearly two billion miles away...what were you expecting?

And the ESA's orbiters are far better than NASA's, just look at he recent pics Mars!


Mic


[edit on 22/10/2005 by MickeyDee]

Originally posted by Murcielago
but I was very dissappointed from there Huygens lander, which landed on a saturn moon called Titan.

Yeah... So was I, actually. I mean, it survived the violence of liftoff, traveled millions of miles through the vacuum of space to Saturn, plummeted through the dense atmosphere of Titan, survived the descent and landed in full operation, lasted longer than anyone expected to in the harsh cold, and sent back years worth of data and images on a solar body we knew next to nothing about.

Really dissapointing, that one was.

Originally posted by cmdrkeenkid
it survived the violence of liftoff, traveled millions of miles through the vacuum of space to Saturn, plummeted through the dense atmosphere of Titan, survived the descent and landed in full operation, lasted longer than anyone expected to in the harsh cold, and sent back years worth of data and images on a solar body we knew next to nothing about.

Exactly...

I think the ESA's probe to Titan done an excellent job!

It may have only sent back a few images, but how many other probes are capable of that...NONE!

Titan is the furthest place ANYONE has landed a probe, and it was the ESA that landed there, NOT NASA!

The ESA is coming on leaps and bound at he moment, and if the US doesnt hurry up, their going to lose the race back to the Moon...to either the ESA or the Chinese!


Mic

Originally posted by cmdrkeenkid

Originally posted by Murcielago
but I was very dissappointed from there Huygens lander, which landed on a saturn moon called Titan.

Yeah... So was I, actually. I mean, it survived the violence of liftoff, traveled millions of miles through the vacuum of space to Saturn, plummeted through the dense atmosphere of Titan, survived the descent and landed in full operation, lasted longer than anyone expected to in the harsh cold, and sent back years worth of data and images on a solar body we knew next to nothing about.

Really dissapointing, that one was.

good point...But i'm sure you must have been a little dissapointed from only a few low-res pics. I think I might os just set my expectations higher, after seeing pics from the Mars rovers and Cassini.



[edit on 22-10-2005 by Murcielago]

Originally posted by Murcielago
But i'm sure you must have been a little dissapointed from only a few low-res pics.

Well, if you have some way to sending highly detailed images quickly through the muck that is Titan's atmosphere, with using a small, low power antenae you should contact the space agencies.

What would you rather have: a few high detail images that you can't get too much out of, or a ton of medium detail images of just about everything in view?

Cool I cant wait to learn more about Venus. Its such a harsh planet as close to Hell as I would ever want to get. I still have much respect for Russia landing a probe on Venus

Originally posted by Murcielago
good point...But i'm sure you must have been a little dissapointed from only a few low-res pics. I think I might os just set my expectations higher, after seeing pics from the Mars rovers and Cassini.

Those Mars rovers weren't nearly as long underway so used more recent technology. Such an expensive interplanetary mission as one to Saturn is also one of those huge expensive missions with long preparation that they don't really have anymore, so the technology in that was pretty much outdated and fossilized on earth by the time it got there.

why do you say venus is just like hell? what if when they landed that probe and there was a USA flag already embeded into the ground, now wouldnt that be cool.

Because the surface temperature is enough to melt lead.

Venus has the hottest surface temperature of any planet in our solar system.

Does the ESA run any manned missions with Russia? I think it would be great if they could stay away from manned missions unlike other space agencies. Robotic exploration is remarkable.

Cool.

Originally posted by Frosty
Venus has the hottest surface temperature of any planet in our solar system.

Does the ESA run any manned missions with Russia? I think it would be great if they could stay away from manned missions unlike other space agencies

. Robotic exploration is remarkable.

Cool.

You just dont get it...and I dont think you ever will.

The whole point a (robotic) space exploration is for us to venture out there, we send landers and satellites through-out our solar system to learn about it, before we go and experience it.
No different then looking before you walk.