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

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

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