Venus Express and terrestrial planet climatology

Abstract

After a delay of more than a decade, the exploration of Venus has resumed through the European Venus Express mission, now in orbit around the planet. The mission payload, its implementation in an elliptical polar orbit, and the science operations planned, all focus on outstanding problems associated with the atmosphere and climate of Venus. Many of these problems, such as understanding the extreme surface warming produced by the carbon dioxide-driven greenhouse effect, and the role of sulfate aerosols in the atmosphere, have resonances with climate-change issues on the Earth and Mars. As data on all three terrestrial planets accumulates, and models of the energy balance and general circulation of their atmospheres improve, it becomes increasingly possible to define and elucidate their behavior in a common, comparative framework. Venus Express seeks to contribute to progress in this area.