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Cuneiformist
The Imperfectionist
USA
4955 Posts |
 Posted - 04/10/2006 : 16:14:28
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According to CNN, on Tuesday, a "European Space Agency's (ESA) Venus Express orbiter is expected to fire its main engine in a nearly hour-long maneuver to begin its planet-watching duties." This will be the first time in over a dacade that Earth has had a probe study the planet.quote:
Venus Express carries seven primary instruments, many of which were spares left over from previous ESA missions such as the agency's Mars Express and comet-bound Rosetta programs, to peel back the layers of the Venusian atmosphere.
Researchers hope the spacecraft will unveil the source of Venus' dense, turbulent and toxic atmosphere.
"We think that volcanism is the mechanism that would produce that atmosphere," Svedhem said. "And if we find that this is the case, well that I think would be very exciting."
Svedhem and his colleagues also hope to better understand how trapped carbon dioxide, water vapor and sulphuric aerosol gases factored into the "greenhouse effect" that appears to superheat Venus' atmosphere to an average temperature of about 869 degrees Fahrenheit (465 degree Celsius).
Venus Express is expected to begin its primary science mission -- a 15-Earth month period that translates into two of Venus' long sidereal days -- in June after a series of maneuvers to reach its final operational orbit.
This will be something to follow tomorrow while our server is down!
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