DLR Portal - Venus Express

Indications of volcanic activity on Venus

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 20:10:00 +0200

Although some uncertainty remains, the most recent infrared data from the VIRTIS spectrometer seem to confirm the suspicion. "We are pretty sure that Venus still has volcanic activity," say Jörn Helbert and Nils Müller from the DLR Institute of Planetary Research – members of the VIRTIS team.

Venus' atmosphere observed – SCIAMACHY on Envisat looks elsewhere

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 10:00:00 +0200

Scientists at DLR and SRON have found a new area of deployment for the SCIAMACHY atmospheric instrument on the European environmental satellite Envisat. In March and June 2009, the spectrometer looked away from its normal target, Earth, towards our neighbouring inner planet Venus and investigated its radiation at visible light and near-infrared wavelengths.

New details in the clouds of Venus are revealed

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:10:00 +0200

As ESA's Venus Express continues to orbit around our sister planet, new images of the cloud structure of one of the most enigmatic atmospheres of the Solar System reveal brand-new details.

Research into Venus: traces of a turbulent past

Tue, 13 May 2008 05:00:00 +0200

As is the case on the Earth, the surface temperature on Venus changes in relation to topographical height: in the lowland plains, the temperature is higher, while in the mountains it is lower. Armed with the knowledge of how high a region is, it is possible to forecast the temperature there. In the Lada Terra uplands, close to the South Pole, it was possible to prove the existence of minor variations in the forecast temperature. Scientists from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) succeeded in this endeavour in collaboration with colleagues from Finland, Italy and France, using readings from the European Space Agency’s Venus Express space probe. The researchers attributed these variations in temperature to differences in the composition of the solidified lava, which could be ascribed to the fact that the volcanoes were created at different times.

Light and dark - the changeable weather of Venus

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 13:10:00 +0100

The Venus Express probe has revealed a planet of extraordinarily changeable and extremely large-scale weather. Bright hazes appear in a matter of days, reaching from the south pole to the low southern latitudes and disappearing just as quickly. Such 'global weather', unlike anything on Earth, has given scientists a new mystery to solve.

Out of orbit and in the lab – On the track of Venus's secrets

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 14:30:00 +0100

It will probably be many years yet before the first piece of Venus's surface is actually examined in a laboratory on Earth. But even today laboratory tests on volcanic rocks from Earth are a great help in analysing the surface of Venus that is marked by thousands of volcanoes.

Hot stuff on Venus! Looking on the hell-like surface of Earth's twin through a very special "window" in the clouds with Venus Express

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 11:40:00 +0100

Scientists involved in a spectrometer experiment onboard the Venus Express mission of the European Space Agency ESA have succeeded in looking through the thick carbon dioxide atmosphere of Earth's sister planet. From the orbiting spacecraft they were able to obtain the first large-area temperature maps from the southern hemisphere of this unfriendly, lead-melting hot Venusian world. VIRTIS is the instrument that was used for obtaining these temperature measurements. "This is a major step forward in our attempt to identify specific surface features on the surface of Venus", states Jörn Helbert from the German Aerospace Center's (DLR) Institute of Planetary Research in Berlin, Germany, who is a member of the VIRTIS team.

Unexpected detail in first-ever Venus south pole images

Thu, 13 Apr 2006 22:30:00 +0200

Venus Express has returned the first-ever images of the hothouse planet's south pole from a distance of 206 452 kilometres, showing surprisingly clear structures and unexpected detail. The images were taken 12 April during the spacecraft's initial capture orbit after successful arrival on 11 April 2006.

Venus Express enters orbit around our planetary neighbour

Tue, 11 Apr 2006 12:00:00 +0200

Europe has arrived at Venus. A vital manoeuvre of the Venus Express probe was completed this morning and it entered orbit around our neighbouring planet successfully.

Europe's Venus Express to arrive at its enigmatic destination

Wed, 05 Apr 2006 06:10:00 +0200

For 153 days, Europe's Venus Express has been racing to our nearest planetary neighbour, the hothouse planet Venus. The mission, which started on 9 November 2005 at 04:33 CET on a Soyuz rocket launched from the Russian facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, will reach its target on 11 April at 9:19 CEST after a journey of some 400 million kilometres. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is playing a key role in the mission's science instrument package as well as the spacecraft hardware.