ESA - Venus Express

[flynn]

No worries now we only have to wait 147 days to venus orbit insertion.<br /><br />I'll keep an eye out for more updates. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[flynn]

Latest updates from ESA Portal. <br /><br />A little late because I've been busy doing Dad things <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br /><b>Earth-Moon observations from Venus Express</b><br /><br /><i>25 November 2005</i><br />A recent check of the VIRTIS imaging spectrometer during the Venus Express commissioning phase has allowed its first remote-sensing data to be acquired, using Earth and the Moon as a reference.<br /> <br />After a successful in-flight checkout of the spacecraft's systems in the first ten days of flight, the ESOC operations team is now verifying the health and functioning of all the Venus Express instruments. These observations were made as part of this checkout. <br />Of course the very large distance that Venus Express has travelled since its launch makes these images of limited interest to the general public, but to the scientific team it confirms the excellent operation of their instrument. <br /><br />This gives them confidence of spectacular results when the spacecraft reaches Venus where similar measurements will be made hundreds times closer. <br /><br />Full Story <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[flynn]

<b>First light for the Venus Monitoring Camera</b><br /> <br /><i>30 November 2005</i><br />This image, taken by the Venus Monitoring Camera (VMC) during commissioning of the Venus Express instruments, shows Earth and Moon from 3.5 million kilometres away.<br /> <br />The exposure time was set to obtain a signal from the Moon in all four channels simultaneously. For this reason Earth is overexposed. <br />The value of such images to the scientific teams is that it allows them to test and calibrate their instruments before Venus approach.<br /><br />VMC is a wide-angle multi-channel camera that will be able to take images of the planet in the near-infrared, ultraviolet and visible wavelengths. VMC will be able to make global images and will study the cloud dynamics and image the surface. In addition it will assist in the identification of phenomena seen by other instruments. <br /><br />The VMC team is led by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany. <br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

Very cool. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> Thanks for taking the time to update us! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[flynn]

no time to dig anything up but 100 days till orbit insertion. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[heliox]

As a side note the site below is fairly interesting showing what an amateur can achieve fairly cheaply to track these space probes:<br /><br />http://www.uhf-satcom.com/vex/<br /><br />Using modified and ebay equipment he managed to pick up and track the Venus Express at over 4 million miles distance from his back garden. He's also managed to do the same for MRO (http://www.uhf-satcom.com/mro/). Those pages were written last month but i know he still has reception of both craft this month even with their increased distance.<br /><br />Not really related to the mission but shows a home user can sort of get involved....<br /><br />

 

[flynn]

Thanks for the link.<br /><br />80 days till orbit insertion. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[flynn]

No news is good news<br /><br />65 Days till orbit insertion <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[telfrow]

<b>Successful Venus Express main engine test</b><br /><br /><i>17 February 2006<br />One hundred days after beginning its cruise to Venus, ESA’s Venus Express spacecraft successfully tested its main engine for the first time in space.<br /> <br />The main engine test is a critical step in the mission. In fact, it is due to its powerful thrust that Venus Express will be able to ‘brake’ on arrival at Venus. The spacecraft must slow down in order to be captured in orbit around the planet. <br />The engine was fired during the night of 16/17 February, starting at 01:27 CET (00:27 UT) and the ‘burn’ lasted for about three seconds. Thanks to this engine burn, the spacecraft changed its velocity by almost three metres per second. <br /><br />About one hour later, the data received from the spacecraft by the Venus Express ground control team (via ESA’s New Norcia antenna in Australia) revealed that the test was successful.</i><br /><br /> Link <br /><br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <strong><font color="#3366ff">Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild.</font> - <font color="#3366ff"><em>Tennyson</em></font></strong> </div>

 

[flynn]

Excellent news, thanks for posting<br /><br />50 days till orbit insertion. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[flynn]

40 Days to go.<br /><br />Winning postcards from Venus chosen<br /><br /> <br />2 March 2006<br />Venus, as the goddess of beauty, has been celebrated in art and myth for millennia. Now, The Planetary Society and ESA celebrate the imagined rugged beauty of the planet’s natural landscape with the winning entries in the 'Postcards from Venus' art contest in coordination with ESA’s Venus Express mission, en route toward a rendezvous with Venus on 11 April 2006.<br /><br />Full story with pics. http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Venus_Express/SEMHXRMVGJE_0.html <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[willpittenger]

Sorry if someone already asked, but I gave up going through 110 replies to find the answer.<br /><br />Is Venus Express using the same camera system used by Mars Express? (It was mentioned VE was a clone of ME.) If so, does that system have non-visual capabilities? I doubt that visual pictures -- even 3D ones -- will be useful. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>

 

[willpittenger]

Never mind. The page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_Express shows that the VE camera is derived from the ME camera and can see in non-visible wavelengths. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>

 

[flynn]

18 Days till orbit insertion and ESA Portal has been keeping us up to date even if I havn't. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br /><b>And now… straight to Venus!</b><br /><br />3 March 2006<br />Excitement grows around the progress of ESA’s Venus Express spacecraft as the distance to its destination gets shorter, in the week which sees the anniversary of another historical Venus mission.<br /> <br />On 1 March 1982, the first colour picture of the Venusian surface was returned by the Russian Venera 13 spacecraft. <br />Now, twenty-four years later and about forty days before its thrilling arrival at Venus, the Venus Express spacecraft has passed an important exam. The Venus Express mission team declared that the spacecraft systems are ready for the orbit insertion around Venus and for the first in-orbit operations. <br /><br />Full Story <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[flynn]

<b>Join ESA on the Venus observation campaign</b><br /> <br />17 March 2006<br />If you are an advanced amateur astronomer and want to contribute to the Venus Express mission, prepare your telescope and look at the sky for the Morning Star.<br /> <br />Your images and data taken from the ground will complement the spacecraft's observations from Venusian orbit. <br /><br />Full story <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[flynn]

Orbit insertion Podcast <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[flynn]

Mission control team readies for Venus arrival<br /><br />27 March 2006<br />Venus Express mission controllers at ESA's Space Operations Centre (ESOC) are in intensive preparation for an 11 April arrival at the spacecraft's namesake destination.<br /> <br />The critical manoeuvre will involve a deft combination of basic physics, expert spacecraft engineering and precise timing.<br />Next month's Venus Orbit Insertion (VOI) will mark the arrival of the first ESA mission at Venus, one of the Solar System's most enigmatic planets. <br /><br />Orbit insertion comprises a series of telecommands, engine burns and manoeuvres designed to slow the spacecraft from a velocity of 29 000 km per hour relative to Venus just before the first burn to an entry velocity some 15 percent slower, allowing it to be captured into orbit around the planet. <br /><br />Full Story <br /><br />12 Days till orbit insertion <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[brandbll]

I have a question: Why don't we send another probe back to Venus to take pictures from the ground? Would it really still be that difficult with the technology we have? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="3">You wanna talk some jive? I'll talk some jive. I'll talk some jive like you've never heard!</font></p> </div>

 

[n_kitson]

In theory it is not that difficult - landing on Venus is supposed to be easier than landing on Mars. Staying operational on Venus is a very different matter... <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br />The limitation on sending a lander to Venus is based on a lack of funds as opposed to technical challenges. Generally exploration is done in programs. At the moment there is not a cohesive program for Venus exploration that I am aware of. Venus Express is an opportunistic mission that is a by-product of Mars Exploration. After the design of Mars Express, scientists had a look at how they could adapt and reuse the same basic design. A Venus orbiter was the most feasible answer, and hence we have Venus Express.<br /><br />I do believe that the Russians have mentioned a new lander, but frankly, they don't have the money. I may be wrong, but I think the last interplantary probe they launched was Mars-96.

 

[brandbll]

Were the Russian landers the only ones to ever successfully land and take pictures? If i remember correctly they didn't even last that long, shorter than Hyugens if i'm correct. Is the hard part building something solid enough to last the heat, or is the hard part building something solid enough that still is able to communicate well with an orbiter of some sort to relay the pictures? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="3">You wanna talk some jive? I'll talk some jive. I'll talk some jive like you've never heard!</font></p> </div>

 

[bushuser]

I'm not sure which is the bigger engineering challenge...the 800 degree temp or the high-pressure surface conditions [36 ATM, like diving at 900 foot water depth]. You can design a diving sphere, with components that don't soften at that temp. Or you can design a sieve, where pressure changes are quickly equalized throughout the vehicle, preventing collapse. And what power system will you use that can function at this temp for more than a few minutes? RTG's require radiators to create a heat gradient. There are some exotic batteries which only function at high temp.<br /><br />It is a trip worth taking someday. Venus is as much an enigma as Mars.

 

[spacechump]

More like 90 atm which is almost three-quarters of a mile below the ocean.

 

[flynn]

<b>Venus within ESA probe reach</b><br /> <br />31 March 2006<br />PR 12-2006. After its five-month, 400-million-kilometre journey inside our Solar System following its lift-off on 9 November 2005, ESA’s Venus Express spacecraft will finally arrive on 11 April at its destination: planet Venus.<br /> <br />Venus Express mission controllers at the ESA Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany, are making intensive preparations for orbit insertion. <br />This comprises a series of telecommands, engine burns and manoeuvres designed to slow the spacecraft down from a velocity of 29000 km per hour relative to Venus, just before the first burn, to an entry velocity some 15% slower, allowing the spacecraft to be captured into orbit around the planet. <br /><br /><br />http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEME02NFGLE_index_0.html<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[flynn]

<b>ESA’s Venus Express to reach final destination</b><br /> <br /><i>7 April 2006</i><br />ESA INFO 02-2006. It was on 9 November last year that ESA's Venus Express spacecraft lifted off from the desert of Kazakhstan onboard a Soyuz-Fregat rocket. Now, after having travelled 400 million kilometres in only about five months, the spacecraft is about to reach its final destination. The rendezvous is due to take place on 11 April.<br /> <br />First step: catching Venus<br /> <br />To begin to explore our Earth’s hot and hazy sister planet, Venus Express must complete a critical first step, the most challenging one following launch. This involves a set of complex operations and manoeuvres that will inject the spacecraft into orbit. The Venus Orbit Insertion (VOI) manoeuvre allows the spacecraft to reduce its speed relative to Venus, so that it can be captured by the planet’s gravitation. The manoeuvre is a critical one which must proceed at precisely the right place and time. <br /><br />Full story <br /><br />Orbit insertion in 42 hours <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[flynn]

Insertion tomorrow morning with a press conference at mid-day.<br /><br />Fingers crossed time <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>