The Venus orbiter belonging to the European Space Agency will undertake one very special mission before it’s officially retired.
The Venus orbiter belonging to the European Space Agency will undertake one very special mission before it’s officially retired.
It’s going to plunge into the atmosphere of Venus, if everything goes as planned.
There are some potential problems standing in the way of guaranteed success.
One is that the satellite is extremely low on fuel, the reason the 8-year space veteran’s tenure is coming to a close in the first place.
It’s unknown if there’s enough propellant remaining to carry out the planned task.
The other is Venus itself.
As far as planetary atmospheres go, it’s one of the more volatile.
Between the extreme heat, poisonous air, volcanoes, and sulfuric acid rain, there’s a lot that could prevent the Venus Express from making it very far in.
The scientists behind the plan acknowledge this and say they’re just hoping to get a bit of new information about the rarely studied planet.
Those includes some magnetic readings, an assessment of the solar wind properties, and insights into the air composition.
In the weeks ahead the orbital route of the Venus Express will be tweaked for entry.
