Editing Venus Express (section)

==Timeline of the mission==

[[File:Animation of Venus Express trajectory.gif|thumb|Animation of ''Venus Express''{{'s}} trajectory from 9 November 2005 to 31 December 2006<br />{{legend2|magenta|''Venus Express''}}{{·}}{{legend2|Lime|Venus}}{{·}}{{legend2|RoyalBlue|Earth}}{{·}}{{legend2|Yellow|Sun}}]]
[[File:Animation of Venus Express trajectory around Venus.gif|thumb|Animation of ''Venus Express''{{'s}} trajectory around Venus from 1 April 2006 to 1 April 2008<br />{{legend2|magenta|''Venus Express''}}{{·}}{{legend2|Lime|Venus}}]]

=== Before launch ===
*3 August 2005: ''Venus Express'' completed its final phase of testing at [[EADS Astrium|Astrium]] Intespace<!-- Intespace sic! --> facility in [[Toulouse|Toulouse, France]].
*7 August 2005: ''Venus Express'' arrived at the airport of the [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]].
*16 August 2005: First flight verification test completed.
*22 August 2005: Integrated System Test-3.
*30 August 2005: Last major system test successfully started.
*5 September 2005: Electrical testing successful.
*21 September 2005: FRR (Fuelling Readiness Review) Ongoing.
*12 October 2005: Mating to the ''Fregat'' upper stage completed.
*21 October 2005: Contamination detected inside the [[Payload fairing|fairing]] – launch on hold.
*5 November 2005: Arrival at launch pad.
*9 November 2005: Launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome at 03:33:34 UTC.

=== In space ===
*11 November 2005: First trajectory correction maneuver successfully performed.
*17 February 2006: The main engine is fired successfully in a dress rehearsal for the arrival maneuver.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Venus_Express/SEMVX5MVGJE_0.html |title=Successful Venus Express main engine test |publisher=European Space Agency |date=17 February 2006 |access-date=9 May 2006}}</ref>
*24 February 2006: Second trajectory correction maneuver successfully performed.
*29 March 2006: Third trajectory correction maneuver successfully performed – on target for 11 April orbit insertion.
*7 April 2006: Command stack for orbit insertion maneuver is loaded on the spacecraft.
*11 April 2006: The Venus Orbit Insertion (VOI) is completed successfully, according to the following timeline:<ref name="esa20070524">{{cite web |url=http://sci.esa.int/venus-express/38947-orbit-insertion/ |title=Venus orbit insertion |publisher=European Space Agency |date=24 May 2007 |access-date=26 January 2015}}</ref>

::{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Event
![[Spacecraft event time]] (UTC)
!Ground receive time (UTC)
|-
| Liquid Settling Phase start || 07:07:56 || 07:14:41
|-
| VOI main engine start || 07:10:29 || 07:17:14
|-
| periapsis passage || 07:36:35 ||
|-
| eclipse start || 07:37:46 ||
|-
| occultation start || 07:38:30 || 07:45:15
|-
| occultation end || 07:48:29 || 07:55:14
|-
| eclipse end || 07:55:11 ||
|-
| VOI burn end || 08:00:42 || 08:07:28
|}

:::Period of this initial orbit is nine days.<ref name="nssdc"/>
*13 April 2006: First images of Venus from ''Venus Express'' released.
*20 April 2006: Apoapsis Lowering Manoeuvre #1 performed. Orbital period is now 40 hours.
*23 April 2006: Apoapsis Lowering Manoeuvre #2 performed. Orbital period is now approx 25 hours 43 minutes.
*26 April 2006: Apoapsis Lowering Manoeuvre #3 is slight fix to previous ALM.
*7 May 2006: ''Venus Express'' entered its target orbit at apoapsis at 13:31 UTC

=== In target orbit ===
*14 December 2006: First temperature map of the southern hemisphere.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2009/07/The_new_temperature_map_of_Venus_southern_hemisphere |title=The new temperature map of Venus' southern hemisphere |publisher=European Space Agency |date=14 July 2009 |access-date=27 November 2016}}</ref>
*27 February 2007: [[ESA]] agrees to fund mission extension until May 2009.{{citation needed|date=December 2014}}
*19 September 2007: End of the nominal mission (500 Earth days) – Start of mission extension.
*27 November 2007: A series of papers was published in ''Nature'' giving the initial findings. It finds evidence for past oceans. It confirms the presence of lightning on Venus and that it is more common on Venus than it is on Earth. It also reports the discovery that a huge double [[Polar vortex|atmospheric vortex]] exists at the south pole of the planet.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.nature.com/news/2007/071128/full/news.2007.297.html |title=European mission reports from Venus |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |first=Eric |last=Hand |date=27 November 2007 |doi=10.1038/news.2007.297|s2cid=129514118 |doi-access=free |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7117303.stm |title=Venus offers Earth climate clues |work=BBC News |date=28 November 2007 |access-date=29 November 2007}}</ref>
*20 May 2008: The detection by the VIRTIS instrument of [[hydroxyl]] (OH) in the atmosphere of Venus is reported in the May 2008 issue of [[Astronomy & Astrophysics]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Venus_Express_Provides_First_Detection_Of_Hydroxyl_In_Atmosphere_Of_Venus_999.html |title=Venus Express Provides First Detection of Hydroxyl in Atmosphere of Venus |publisher=SpaceDaily |date=20 May 2008 |access-date=15 December 2014}}</ref>
*4 February 2009: ESA agrees to fund mission extension until 31 December 2009.{{citation needed|date=December 2014}}
*7 October 2009: ESA agrees to fund the mission through 31 December 2012.{{citation needed|date=December 2014}}
* 23 November 2010: ESA agrees to fund the mission through 31 December 2014.{{citation needed|date=December 2014}}
* 25 August 2011: It is reported that a layer of [[ozone]] exists in the upper atmosphere of Venus.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15203281 |title=Venus springs ozone layer surprise |work=BBC News |first=Jennifer |last=Carpenter |date=7 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=A layer of ozone detected in the nightside upper atmosphere of Venus |journal=Icarus |first1=F. |last1=Montmessin |first2=J.-L. |last2=Bertaux |first3=F. |last3=Lefèvre |first4=E. |last4=Marcq |first5=D. |last5=Belyaev |first6=J.-C. |last6=Gérard |first7=O. |last7=Korablev |first8=A. |last8=Fedorova |first9=V. |last9=Sarago |first10=A. C. |last10=Vandaele |display-authors=5 |volume=216 |issue=1 |pages=82–85 |date=November 2011 |doi=10.1016/j.icarus.2011.08.010 |bibcode=2011Icar..216...82M|hdl=2268/100136 |url=https://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/100136 }}</ref>
* 1 October 2012: It is reported that a cold layer where [[dry ice]] may exists in the atmosphere of Venus.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Venus_Express/A_curious_cold_layer_in_the_atmosphere_of_Venus |title=A curious cold layer in the atmosphere of Venus |publisher=European Space Agency |date=1 October 2012 |access-date=15 December 2014}}</ref>
* 18 June—11 July 2014: Performs successful [[aerobraking]] experiment.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.esa.int/rocketscience/2014/05/16/surfing-an-alien-atmosphere/ |title=Surfing an alien atmosphere |publisher=European Space Agency |first=Daniel |last=Scuka |date=16 May 2014 |access-date=23 November 2014}}</ref> Multiple passes at 131 to 135&nbsp;km altitude.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Venus_Express/Venus_Express_rises_again |title=Venus Express rises again |publisher=European Space Agency |date=11 July 2014 |access-date=14 April 2015}}</ref>

=== End of mission ===
* 28 November 2014: Mission control loses contact with ''Venus Express''.<ref name="SpaceDaily-2014-12-08">{{cite news |url=http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Venus_Express_anomaly_999.html |title=Venus Express anomaly |publisher=SpaceDaily |date=8 December 2014 |access-date=15 December 2014}}</ref>
* 3 December 2014: Intermittent contact established, spacecraft determined to likely be out of propellant.<ref name="SpaceDaily-2014-12-08" />
* 16 December 2014: ESA declares the ''Venus Express'' mission over.<ref name="esa20141216" />
* 18 January 2015: Last detection of the spacecraft's X-band carrier signal.<ref name="esa20150123" />