Preface

Abstract

Venus has long been recognized as a sister planet to the Earth, as one of a triad of terrestrial planets with an atmosphere (Earth, Venus, Mars), and as a possible analogue for planets circling other stars. Its dense CO₂ atmosphere has provided both a lesson and a warning in our understanding of the effects of greenhouse gases.

The planet was the first to be visited by spacecraft and was the target of numerous American and Soviet space missions launched in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. A long, dry spell in the exploration of this planet was recently broken when ESA's Venus Express went into orbit in 2006 (see the chapter by Taylor). Japan's Venus Climate Orbiter will launch in 2009. The NASA Messenger spacecraft, en route to Mercury, observed Venus closely when it flew by in June 2007. Future missions are under study by NASA and other space agencies. If Venus was the "forgotten planet," it is now receiving well-deserved close attention!