Mars Express and Venus Express operations extended (Forwarded)

ESA News
http://www.esa.int

27 February 2007

The planetary adventure continues -- Mars Express and Venus Express
operations extended

ESA's Mars Express and Venus Express missions, to explore our nearest
neighbour planets Mars and Venus respectively, will continue to operate
until early-May 2009. The decision was unanimously taken by ESA's Science
Programme Committee last Friday.

The Science Programme Committee recognised the outstanding legacy that
Mars Express and Venus Express are building for future generations of
scientists, and noted the invaluable heritage that these missions are
leaving to future missions to these planets. The decision to extend the
two missions will allow to continue the exploitation of their unique
potential.

So far, both missions have allowed an amazing amount of scientific
discoveries of the highest quality. Both spacecraft are equipped with a
suite of sophisticated scientific instruments -- many of which share a
common design and the same scientific teams, and the prime objective of
both the missions is a comprehensive study of the respective planets at
outstanding spatial and spectral resolution.

The extension of the Mars Express and Venus Express operations will not
only allow to complete the coverage carried out during the scientific
phases that took place so far, but will also sustain the synergy that is
being created in the interpretation of the data sets collected from both
missions. Furthermore, their operational synergies have allowed for
substantial cost reductions not possible when operating just one of these
missions.

The scientists involved can now not only focus on planet-specific results,
but focus on comparative planetology to provide new solid arguments for
the current theories of planetary formation and evolution, for the
conditions favourable for life to emerge in the Solar System, and for the
interaction of terrestrial planets' environment with the solar wind.

Mars Express -- the present and the future

Mars Express's watch-word is 'global mapping', at unprecedented
resolution, of surface, subsurface and atmosphere of Mars, with particular
emphasis on the search for water in its various states and on the search
for signs of biological processes.

Results achieved by Mars Express so far include the evidence of volcanic,
fluvial and glacial activity on Mars from very early in its history until
very recently -- possibly still going on today; the first ever sub-surface
radar sounding of another planet, that led to the discovery of underground
water-ice and of buried impact basins; the first comprehensive study of
the mineralogical composition of the planets surface, which provided the
first mineralogical evidence for the past history of water on Mars -- now
known with certainty to have been very abundant in the early epochs; the
detection of methane in the atmosphere as a possible 'tracer' of present
life on Mars or as an indicator of present volcanism; the first global
measurements of the ozone levels on day- and night-sides; the existence of
mid-latitude auroras on Mars; the first detailed and quantitative
indications of the atmospheric escape processes -- just to mention a few.

For Mars Express, a major remaining goal to be achieved is the completion
of global coverage in general terms. The mission's unique capability to
produce high-resolution, stereo images in colour for geological
interpretation, its capability to study the surface roughness and
mineralogy, and the capability to probe at unique depths the subsurface of
areas of interest as far as water and ice are concerned, makes Mars
Express the ideal 'tool' to select candidate landing sites for future
missions, especially valuable when the maximum possible coverage will have
been reached thanks to the extended mission. Because Mars Express
instruments are also largely complementary to the instruments of other
missions to Mars, the data set obtained by this mission becomes even more
important.

Venus Express -- looking further

Venus Express is still only half-way through its (initially planned)
nominal mission, but has already revealed features never detected in such
detail before. These include the huge, 'double-eyed' atmospheric vortex at
Venus South Pole and its 3D structure varying with the altitude, the first
solid indications of the complex structures and sub-structures that
characterise the thick and noxious atmosphere of the planet and its
complex cloud and wind systems. These are also being studied at low
altitudes, down to the surface, thanks to the first systematic
exploitation ever of the so-called 'infrared windows' present in the
atmosphere.

Venus Express' results also include preliminary important measurements of
the atmospheric chemistry and temperature, and the analysis of the
atmospheric escape processes in combination with the action of the solar
wind, fundamental to understand the water history and the evolution of the
planet's atmosphere.

Venus Express' extension will allow to achieve a global coverage of the
atmosphere of this planet, so similar and at the same time so different
from Earth. It will also allow to completely address, thanks to a thorough
analysis of surface temperature and chemistry maps, the question on
whether Venus is a planet still geologically and volcanically active.

Thanks to its extension Venus Express will also be able to continue the
first extensive study of the strong green-house effect on the planet -- a
subject extremely interesting for planetary climate experts, and an
important element of comparison for the evolution of the green-house
effect on Earth.

Note for editors

Mars Express was launched on 2 June 2003 and reached Mars 6 months later.
It started its scientific observations in early 2004. The mission was
already extended until end-October 2007, and will now operate for almost
two more Earth-years.

Venus Express was launched on 9 November 2005 and arrived to its
destination after a five-month journey. It started its scientific phase in
early June 2006. Initially planned to operate until end-September 2007,
the mission will now take advantage of the extension of its operations for
almost two further Earth-years.

For more information:

Fred Jansen, ESA Mars Express and Venus Express Mission Manager
Email: fjansen @ rssd.esa.int

Agustin Chicarro, ESA Mars Express Project Scientist
Email: agustin.chicarro @ esa.int

Håkan Svedhem, ESA Venus Express Project Scientist
Email: hakan.svedhem @ esa.int

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