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The European space probes Solar Orbiter and BepiColombo, both with Portuguese technology and science, will pass near Venus on August 9 and 10, respectively, announced on August 2 the European Space Agency (ESA).
The passage through Venus is a necessary maneuver for both probes to reach their destination.
The Solar Orbiter, launched in February 2020, is a space vehicle for observing the Sun, which involves a partnership between ESA and its US counterpart NASA.
BepiColombo, which, strictly speaking, is made up of two probes sent into space in a module in October 2018, aims to explore Mercury, in a joint mission between ESA and the Japanese counterpart Jaxa.
According to an ESA statement, the probes’ passage through Venus “offers an unprecedented opportunity to study the environment of Venus from different locations at the same time and, furthermore, in locations not typically visited by a planetary orbiter.”
The closest approach of Solar Orbiter – designed to produce the first images of the sun’s poles – to Venus will be at 05:42 (Lisbon time) on August 9, at 7,995 kilometers of altitude, while BepiColombo’s maximum approach will be at 14 :48 August 10, 550 kilometers away.
It will not be possible to obtain high resolution images of Venus, only black and white photographs taken by two of the three cameras in the BepiColombo module. The first image is expected to be available on August 10th and most of the rest the following day.
According to ESA, there may be an opportunity later this week for the Solar Orbiter to observe the nocturnal side of Venus.
The European Space Agency also hopes that the data collected from the passage of the Solar Orbiter and BepiColombo over Venus can provide useful information for the EnVision probe mission, which will be launched in 2030 to study the planet’s atmosphere.
In early October of this year, the BepiColombo module that transports the two probes will make the first of six approaches to Mercury, at an altitude of 200 kilometers.
The two probes will be placed in the planet’s orbit at the end of 2025 in order to study, namely, its magnetic field and its exosphere (the outermost layer of the atmosphere).
Astrophysicist Joana S. Oliveira is part of the scientific team of ESA’s BepiColombo mission and the company Efacec has built electronic equipment that monitors space radiation during the trip and operation of one of the module’s probes.
On November 27, Solar Orbiter will make a final approach to Earth, 460 kilometers above sea level. Thereafter, it will regularly pass through Venus to progressively increase the inclination of its trajectory to better observe the solar polar regions, essential for understanding the cycle of the Sun’s activity.
The Portuguese companies Critical Software, Active Space Technologies and Deimos Engenharia were involved in several components of the solar probe.
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