Atmospheric investigations by Venus Express

This artist's impression shows Venus Express focussing on studying the peculiar atmosphere of Venus, with a precision never achieved before. In doing so, the mission is making the first ever use of the so called 'infrared windows' present in Venus' atmosphere; they are narrow bands in the atmospheric spectrum, discovered in the 1980s thanks to ground observations. Looking through these 'windows' Venus Express is able to gather precious information about the lower layers of the atmosphere and even the surface.