Venus Express: Scientific goals, instrumentation, and scenario of the mission

D.V. Titov (1, 2) , H. Svedhem (3) , D. Mccoy (3) , J.-P. Lebreton (3) , S. Barabash (4) , Jean-Loup Bertaux (5) , P. Drossart (6) , V. Formisano (7) , B. Haeusler (8) , O.I. Korablev (1) , W. Markiewicz (2) , D. Neveance (9) , M. Petzold (10) , G. Piccioni (11) , T.L. Zhang (12) , F.W. Taylor (13) , E. Lellouch (6) , D. Koschny (3) , O. Witasse (3) , M. Warhaut (14) , A. Acomazzo (14) , J. Rodrigues-Cannabal (14) , J. Fabrega (15) , T. Schirmann (15) , A. Clochet (15) , M. Coradini (16)

1 IKI - Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences
2 MPS - Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung = Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
3 ESTEC - European Space Research and Technology Centre
4 IRF - Swedish Institute of Space Physics [Kiruna]
5 SA - Service d'aéronomie
6 LESIA - Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique
7 IFSI - Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario
8 Universität der Bundeswehr München [Neubiberg]
9 BIRA-IASB - Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy / Institut d'Aéronomie Spatiale de Belgique
10 IGN - Institut für Geophysik und Meteorologie [Köln]
11 IASF-Roma - Istituto di Astrofisica Spaziale e Fisica cosmica - Roma
12 IWF - Space Research Institute of Austrian Academy of Sciences
13 University of Oxford
14 ESOC - European Space Operations Center
15 EADS Astrium SAS
16 ESA - Agence Spatiale Européenne = European Space Agency

The first European mission to Venus (Venus Express) is described. It is based on a repeated use of the Mars Express design with minor modifications dictated in the main by more severe thermal environment at Venus. The main scientific task of the mission is global exploration of the Venusian atmosphere, circumplanetary plasma, and the planet surface from an orbiting spacecraft. The Venus Express payload includes seven instruments, five of which are inherited from the missions Mars Express and Rosetta. Two instruments were specially designed for Venus Express. The advantages of Venus Express in comparison with previous missions are in using advanced instrumentation and methods of remote sounding, as well as a spacecraft with a broad spectrum of capabilities of orbital observations.

Domaines: Physique Atmosphérique et Océanique [physics.ao-ph]

D.V. Titov, H. Svedhem, D. Mccoy, J.-P. Lebreton, S. Barabash, et al.. Venus Express: Scientific goals, instrumentation, and scenario of the mission. Cosmic Research, 2006, 44, pp.334-348. ⟨10.1134/S0010952506040071⟩. ⟨hal-00094111⟩