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, on mission around Venus, is a virtual twin of Mars Express, but adapted to survive the harsh environment around this planet. For example, design changes have been implemented to withstand the heating of the spacecraft, four times greater at Venus than at Mars. Venus Express' solar arrays, resistant to high temperatures, are smaller for Venus Express, because there is higher solar illumination at Venus than at Mars.
With its set of state-of-the art instruments for planetary investigations, mostly inherited by the Mars Express and Rosetta mission, Venus Express is designed to make unprecedented studies of the largely unkown phenomena taking place in the Venusian atmosphere. It will also dig into the interaction between the solar wind and the planetary environment and will gather glimpses about the planet's surface, striclty coupled with the dense atmosphere.