The "Glowing Oxygen" of Venus (false colors - elab. ESA)

“During one year of observations, we have already collected huge amount of data, which is exactly what we need to decode the secrets of an atmosphere as complex as that of Venus,” said Håkan Svedhem, Venus Express Project Scientist at ESA. “Analysing it is an extreme effort for all science teams, but it is definitively paying back in terms of results.”

The first ever, terrific global views of the double-eyed vortex at Venus’ south pole, the first sets of 3D data about the structure and the dynamics of the sulphuric-acid clouds surrounding the planet in a thick curtain, temperature maps of the surface and the atmosphere at different altitudes, are only a few of the results obtained so far.

“Continuing at today’s rate, and on the basis of what we were able to see so far, there is no doubt that Venus Express will eventually allow a better global understanding of this planet,” continued Svedhem. “Not only will planetary science in general benefit from this, but also understanding Venus – its climate and atmospheric dynamics –will provide a better comprehension of the mechanisms that drive long-term climate evolution on our own Earth.”