ESA's Venus mission moves a step closer
Europe took a step closer to Venus on 11 July when the European space agency (ESA) science committee agreed unanimously to start work on a spacecraft that will be sent to explore the planet. The Venus Express spacecraft, due for launch in 2005, will travel for 150 days before entering into orbit around Venus. It will then stay for two Venus years - 450 Earth days - to study the planet's atmosphere, surface and plasma environment. The mission's fate is not yet completely finalised, however, as one country, Italy, is yet to confirm its participation. It has until October 2002 to provide a commitment to the project. The idea for the Venus Express mission was born in 2001 as a way of reusing the Mars Express spacecraft design for a quick, low-cost mission. Despite coming under threat from a decision to restrict the ESA science budget in November 2001 and being withdrawn from the science programme in May this year, the initiative was endorsed on 11 July 2002 and a prospective launch date of November 2005 set. ESA Director of Science Professor David Southwood said: 'The Venus Express mission has now taken a big step towards realisation.' He added: 'If we can get Venus Express confirmed in the autumn, ESA will be the only space agency in the world with current plans to visit each planet in the inner Solar System.'