Venus Express was the European Space Agency's first mission to Venus, launched on a Russian Soyuz-Fregat rocket from Baikonur in Kazakhstan. It reached Venus in April 2006 and went into a polar orbit, and from there studied the planet's thick atmosphere, its clouds, its winds and its surface. It found evidence of past volcanic activity, possibly recent, and showed that the atmosphere of the planet rotates much faster than the planet itself. It also detected a large double vortex at the south pole, and a layer of ozone, and observed lightning. The mission was extended several times and ended in late 2014, after it ran short of fuel and contact was lost.
Before and after
- 1 October 2005Establishment of Gros Morne National Park
- 8 October 20052005 Kashmir earthquake
- 18 October 2005Hung Up
- 24 October 2005Death of Rosa Parks
- 9 November 2005Launch of Venus Express
- 13 November 2005Discovery of Vanth
- 14 November 2005Construction of Taipei 101
- 19 November 2005Haditha massacre
- December 2005Discovery of HD 189733 b
More in Universe & space
- 4 October 1957Launch of Sputnik 1
- 20 August 1977Launch of Voyager 2
- 28 July 1989Discovery of Galatea
- 15 May 2005Discovery of Hydra
- 10 September 2005Discovery of Dysnomia
- 19 January 2006Launch of New Horizons
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 21st century.