University of South Carolina Libraries
f European spacecraft enters orbit around Venus to explore atmosphere, climate Melissa Cddy THE ASSOCIATED PRESS DARMSTADT, Germany — A European spacecraft moved into orbit around Venus on Tuesday, successfully completing a critical stage of a mission to explore the hostile climate and atmosphere of Earth’s nearest planetary neighbor. Officials at the European Space Agency’s control center in Darmstadt cheered, clapped and embraced as a green line indicating a clear signal from the Venus Express appeared on their screens, a sign it had completed the maneuver inserting it into orbit. “It’s a fantastic mission for us. We’ve finally reached Venus,” project manager Don McCoy said. \ cli Art- win 1 P 1 <1 fpr scientists received the first data from the probe and praised the technical phase of the Venus mission — ESA’s fourth to a celestial body — as a success. Over the next several weeks, scientists will turn on the seven instruments on the probe and run them through tests. By June, they are expected to begin gathering information on how Venus, while similar to Earth in size and geological makeup, wound up with such a hot, dense atmosphere swathed in clouds of sulfuric acid. “We want to learn about the mistakes of Venus for the sake of the Earth,” ESA Scientific Director David Southwood said. An initial image of Venus’ south pole is expected Thursday. To start Tuesday’s maneuver, controllers fired the probe’s rocket engine to slow it down so Venus’ gravity could pull it into orbit. It then disappeared behind Venus for roughly 10 minutes, leaving controllers without contact as it swung around the back of the planet. It re-emerged on schedule — an accomplishment credited to lessons learned from the Mars Express, on which Venus Express was modeled. Venus Express was launched Nov. 9 atop a Russian booster rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. “We’ve put together a second planetary mission in as short a time as possible,” McCoy said. “We’ve put two satellites around two planets. It’s incredible what we’ve accomplished.” The Mars Express, which was launched in 2003, is still circling that planet. In addition to the Mars and Venus missions, ESA also operates SMART-1 around the moon and is working with NASA on tne passim oroiter arouna Saturn. The Rosetta probe also is en route to land on a comet, a journey expected to last another nine years. The seven instruments aboard the $260-million Venus Express craft include spectrometers to measure temperature and analyze the atmosphere and a special camera to concentrate on activity among Venus’ many volcanoes. Scientists hope the data received will help answer questions about why Venus wound up with an atmosphere almost 90 times denser than Earth’s. Of key importance will be studying Venus’ strong greenhouse effect — the way carbon dioxide traps the sun’s heat — and the permanent hurricane force winds that constantly circle it high in the planet’s atmosphere. Venus is the nearest planet to Earth, and the two share similar mass and density, both with inner cores of rock believed to have been formed at roughly the same time. But Venus’ atmosphere is made up almost entirely of carbon dioxide and has very little water vapor. . Thanks to runaway warming from its greenhouse effect, Venus has the hottest surface of all the planets — around 864 degrees. The aluminum frame probe is coated with a metallic polymer skin to protect it from heat. “Venus is quite close to. Earth, yet so radically different,” McCoy said. “Why is that?” ESA plans to keep the probe active for 500 days, with the possibility of extending its life by 500 more. The last mission to Venus was NASA’S Magellan probe, launched in 1989. It completed more than 15,000 orbits around the planet between 1990 and 1994. Using radar, Magellan was able to map almost all of Venus, revealing towering volcanoes, gigantic rifts and sharp-edged craters. RumsFELD • COnTinUED FROm 12 outspoken in his criticism before the war, saying the “zealots’ rationale for war made no sense.” From 2000 until October 2002, Newbold served as director of operations for the Joint Chiefs. The U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003. At least two other retired generals have raised similar concerns in recent weeks about the administration’s war policies, including Gen. Anthony Zinni, former U.S. Mideast commander. To date, President Bush has rejected calls for Rumsfeld to step down. The defense secretary has served in that job since shortly after Bush took office in 2001. Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said military leaders, during dozens of prewar meetings, laid out a number of questions and concerns about whether there were enough troops and resources for the invasion. Call Madge Davis, VP at Team Oana at (803) 343-3343 to apply for their internship program. Team Oana Investment Alumni • 3142 Carl isle St eet | Prague $338 Rome $4171 Frankfurt $405 Amsterdam $433 < Paris $408 Madrid $463 ‘ fares are subject to change » do not include tanas. Eligibility rastiictlons apply. Roundtrlp Student Airfare Sale! I!TRAVEL CUTS 1-800-592-CUTS 128871 See the world your way The Associated Press An image provided by the European Space Agency ESA shows an artist’s impression of the Venus Express as it enters an orbit around Venus, which took place on Tuesday. TEST PREP COURSES 6n CAMPUS get Prepped! -3^, ATTeNi> a mee m STRATe<^Y WORKSHOP «SS GRE STRATEGY WORKSHOP • April 13, 6.00 pm GMAT STRATEGY WORKSHOP • April 18,6:00 pm LSAT STRATEGY WORKSHOP • April 20, 6:00 pm Hosktd by former <r,MAT, Qwd LSAT 0[ues.ticw writer • prep courses designed by former test question writer • 24 hours of instruction • presented in PowerPoint • GRE, GMAT, and LSAT sample items used in class • taught by qualified instructors with classroom teaching experience _Call Now to Register http://ced.sc.edu • 803-777-9444 UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA ONLINE CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROGRAM Department of Criminology, Law & Society Fully accredited online course and certificate program. World class three credit courses-from police profiling to serial murder-in two summer sessions. $195 per credit • First session starts on May 8 _\ i . ,. ' ' * i l ■l—i- I ■ I . -. . . i |