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An ESA space probe, launched in 2005 November, which went into a highly elliptical polar orbit around Venus in 2006 April to study the atmosphere and surface of the planet. The Venus Monitoring Camera (VMC) images the clouds at ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared wavelengths; three spectrometers (VIRTIS, PFS, and SPICAV) observe at ultraviolet, visible, and infrared wavelengths to plumb the composition, temperature, and structure of the atmosphere down to the surface; and a particle detector (ASPERA) and a magnetometer study the planet's magnetic field and interaction of the solar wind with its atmosphere.
http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/area/index.cfm?fareaid=64 ESA mission website.
From: Venus Express in A Dictionary of Astronomy »
Subjects: Astronomy and Astrophysics.
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