Space exploration with the Portuguese “seal” goes near Venus

The European Space Agency (ESA) announced this Monday that it will be approaching Venus on August 9 and 10, respectively, along with European space exploration Solar Orbiter and Pepicolombo, Portuguese technology and science.

The path through Venus is a maneuver necessary for both studies to reach their goal.

Launched in February 2020, the Solar Orbiter is a spacecraft that looks at the sun, involving a collaboration between That And North American Saga NASA.

BepiColombo, to be precise, was made up of two rickshaws sent into space in a single block in October 2018 Investigate Mercury, In a joint venture between ESA and its Japanese counterpart Jaxa.

According to the ESA report, the passing of studies via Venus “offers an unprecedented opportunity Read the context of Venus From different places at the same time, and in places not normally visited by a planetary orbit ”.

The Solar Orbiter’s close – designed to create the first images of the Sun’s poles – at 5:42 a.m. (Lisbon time) on August 9, at an altitude of 7,995 km, with Pepicolombo’s maximum approach at 2:48 pm on August 10, 550 km away.

You can not only get high resolution images of Venus Black and white photos Two of the three cameras in the BepiColombo module were taken. The first film is expected to be available on August 10th and most will be available the next day.

According to the ESA, this weekend the solar orbiter may have a chance to observe the night time side of Venus.

The European Space Agency hopes that the data collected from the passage of the Solar Orbiter and BabyColombo via Venus will provide useful information for the Envision mission to launch in 2030. Read the atmosphere of the planet.

Earlier this year, the BepiColombo module, which will carry two probes, will be 200 km high in six approaches on Wednesday.

There will be two studies Placed in the orbit of the planet At the end of 2025, to study its magnetic field and its exposure (outer layer of the atmosphere).

Astronomer Jonah S. Oliveira is part of the scientific team for ESA’s BepiColombo mission, and Efacec has developed electronic equipment that monitors space radiation during the voyage and operation of a module study.

On November 27, the Solar Orbiter will make the final approach to Earth at an altitude of 460 km. After that, to gradually increase the inclination of its path to better observe the polar regions of the Sun, it will essentially cross Venus to understand the rotation of the Sun’s activity.

Portuguese companies such as Critical Software, Active Space Technologies and Timos Engenharia were involved in many aspects of solar research.