Unexpected detail in first-ever Venus south pole images
Dark Vortex over South Pole of Venus http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMUTYNFGLE_index_0.html
Posted on 05/10/2006 8:46:25 PM PDT by annie laurie
Less than one month after insertion into orbit, and after sixteen loops around the planet Venus, ESA’s Venus Express spacecraft has reached its final operational orbit on 7 May 2006.
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Launched on 9 November 2005, Venus Express arrived to destination on 11 April 2006, after a five-month interplanetary journey to the inner solar system. The initial orbit – or ‘capture orbit’ – was an ellipse ranging from 330 000 kilometres at its furthest point from Venus surface (apocentre) to less than 400 kilometres at its closest (pericentre).
As of the 9-day capture orbit, Venus Express had to perform a series of further manoeuvres to gradually reduce the apocentre and the pericentre altitudes over the planet. This was achieved by means of the spacecraft main engine – which had to be fired twice during this period (on 20 and 23 April 2006) - and through the banks of Venus Express’ thrusters – ignited five times (on 15, 26 and 30 April, 3 and 6 May 2006).
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"This is the orbit designed to perform the best possible observations of Venus, given the scientific objectives of the mission. These include global observations of the Venusian atmosphere, of the surface characteristics and of the interaction of the planetary environment with the solar wind," says Håkan Svedhem, Venus Express Project Scientist. "It allows detailed high resolution observations near pericentre and the North Pole, and it lets us study the very little explored region around the South Pole for long durations at a medium scale," he concluded ...
(Excerpt) Read more at esa.int ...
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Unexpected detail in first-ever Venus south pole images
Dark Vortex over South Pole of Venus http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMUTYNFGLE_index_0.html
Thanks, FN!
Bump.
Reworked images reveal hot Venus
BBC | 1-13-03 | Dr David Whitehouse
Posted on 01/14/2004 8:25:16 PM EST by Central Scrutiniser
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