The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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The Venus Express spacecraft, a Venus orbiter mission, is a virtual twin of Mars Express, but adapted to survive the harsh environment around Earth’s twin. As an example, design changes have been implemented to counter spacecraft heating, four times greater at Venus than at Mars.
Venus Express' solar arrays, resistant to high temperatures, are smaller for Venus Express, because there is more sunlight at Venus than at Mars.
With its set of state-of-the art instruments for planetary studies, mostly inherited from the Mars Express and Rosetta missions, Venus Express is designed to study the largely unkown phenomena taking place in the Venusian atmosphere like never before. The spacecraft is also digging into the interaction between the solar wind and the planetary environment and is gathering glimpses of the planet's surface, tightly coupled with the dense atmosphere.
The cutaway diagram to the bottom right shows size and locations of Venus Express’ instruments: MAG, VIRTIS, PFS, SPICAM/SOIR, VMC, VeRa and ASPERA.