Image Credit: ESA

The European Space Agency’s Venus Express spacecraft is all set to enter orbit around our planetary neighbor. The orbital insertion begins approximately 15 hours from the time of this posting, 11 April 2006, 08:32:47 UT. If all goes according to plan, Venus Express will begin its full science operations June 4th, after undergoing some minor orbital corrections in the interim.

I’m really excited about this project, for several reasons. The last mission undertaken to Venus was NASA’s Magellan spacecraft, which returned heaps of observations including marvelous radar maps of the surface. Slicing through the dense Venusian atmosphere, Magellan chronicled 98% of the planet’s surface prior to concluding its operations in 1994. With the benefit of more advanced technology at our disposal since our previous journey (heck, I graduated high school in 1989, the year Magellan launched…) Venus Express promises to return some fantastic stuff. Something I’m particularly looking forward to is a more thorough investigation of Venus’ nasty, acidic atmosphere. Among VE’s primary mission objectives:

1. What is the mechanism and what is the driving force of the super-rotation of the atmosphere?
2. What are the basic processes in the general circulation of the atmosphere?
3. What is the composition and chemistry of the lower atmosphere and the clouds?
4. What is the past and present water balance in the atmosphere?
5. What is the role of the radiative balance and greenhouse effect in the past present and future evolution of the planet?
6. Is there currently volcanic and/or tectonic activity on the planet?

Venus Express carries an impressive payload of instruments, some of which have been quite succesful in other missions such as Mars Express and Rosetta.

So, if all goes well, by this time tomorrow we’ll have another orbital mission in progress with a wealth of discoveries to anticipate. Venus Express has a planned mission duration spanning 500 Earth days.

Added 11:15 CDT:

Emily Lakdawalla has posted a report from Darmstadt, Germany, home to ESA’s Spacecraft Operations Centre (as well as a handy timeline of events).