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Aerosol phase elements such as phosphorus (P), sulfur (S), and metals including iron (Fe) are essential nutrients that could help sustain potential biodiversity in the cloud deck of Venus. While the presence of S and Fe in the venusian cloud deck has been broadly discussed (Zasova

The baseline Venera-D mission, proposed to be launched after 2026, consists of an orbiter and a landing module, which includes a lander and a small long-lived station. In this work, we present the possibility of augmenting the mission with one or two micro-spacecraft in Lagrange point orbits to significantly enhance the science return. Both L 1 and L 2 collinear points, situated at about 1 million km from Venus, are considered for scientific objectives. The paper focuses on trajectory design for the micro-spacecraft to be deployed by the Venera-D mission. The transfer scenario we propose performs the insertion of micro-spacecraft into Lagrange point orbit by making use of the main orbiter’s propulsion, while the propulsion on board micro-spacecraft is used only for trajectory correction and station-keeping manoeuvres. This scenario allows the Venera-D mission to add one or two micro-spacecraft of mass about 50 kg with only a total Δ V budget 30 m/s over 3 years on orbit.

Explaining super-rotation on Venus The solid surface of Venus rotates very slowly, once every 243 days, but its thick atmosphere circles the planet in just 4 days. This phenomenon, known as super-rotation, requires a continuous input of angular momentum, from an unknown source, to overcome friction with the surface. Horinouchi et al. mapped the planet's winds using ultraviolet observations of Venus' clouds from the orbiting Akatsuki spacecraft (see the Perspective by Lebonnois). They incorporated these data into a global model of angular momentum transport in the atmosphere, finding that the super-rotation is maintained through thermal tides driven by solar heating. Science , this issue p. 405 ; see also p. 363

We present a re‐examination of mass spectral data obtained from the Pioneer Venus Large Probe Neutral Mass Spectrometer. Our interpretations of differing trace chemical species are suggestive of redox disequilibria in Venus' middle clouds. Assignments to the data (at 51.3 km) include phosphine, hydrogen sulfide, nitrous acid, nitric acid, carbon monoxide, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen cyanide, ethane, and potentially ammonia, chlorous acid, and several tentative PxOy species. All parent ions were predicated upon assignment of corresponding fragmentation products, isotopologues, and atomic species. The data reveal parent ions at varying oxidation states, implying the presence of reducing power in the clouds, and illuminating the potential for chemistries yet to be discovered. When considering the hypothetical habitability of Venus' clouds, the assignments reveal a potential signature of anaerobic phosphorus metabolism (phosphine), an electron donor for anoxygenic photosynthesis (nitrite), and major constituents of the nitrogen cycle (nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, and N2)., Key Points Mass data from the Pioneer Venus Large Probe Neutral Mass Spectrometer reveals several trace chemical species suggestive of disequilibriaTrace species in the middle clouds include phosphine, hydrogen sulfide, nitrous acid, nitric acid, hydrogen cyanide, and carbon monoxideData reveal chemicals related to anaerobic phosphorus metabolism (phosphine), anoxygenic photosynthesis (nitrite), and the nitrogen cycle

The interest in the possibility of life on Venus is driven not just by curiosity about life originating in another Earth-like environment, but because of the possibility that life may be playing a critical role in the planet’s present, and possibly its past, atmospheric state. The brilliance of Venus in the night sky (as viewed from Earth) is due to its highly reflective cloud cover, about 28 km thick at the equator. Its spectral albedo is about 90% at wavelengths > 500 nm, but it drops gradually to about 40% around 370 nm before rising slightly at shorter wavelengths. This albedo drop is due to the presence of several absorbers in the atmosphere and the cloud cover. A very large fraction of the energy absorbed by Venus is at ultraviolet wavelengths with sulfur dioxide above the clouds contributing to the absorption below 330 nm; however, the identities of the other absorbers remain unknown. The inability to identify the absorbers that are responsible for determining the radiative energy balance of Venus over the last century is a major impediment to understanding how the planet “works”, a major component of NASA’s efforts in planetary exploration. Limaye et al. (Astrobiology 18, 1181-1198, 2018) presented a hypothesis suggesting that cloud-based microbial life could be contributors to the spectral signatures of Venus’ clouds, building upon previous suggestions of the possibility of life in the clouds of Venus.Four interconnected themes for the exploration of Venus as an astrobiology target are: – (i) investigations focused on the likelihood that liquid water existed on the surface in the past leading to the potential for the origin and evolution of life, (ii) investigations into the potential for habitable zones within Venus’ clouds and Venus-like atmospheres, (iii) theoretical investigations into how active aerobiology may impact the radiative energy balance of Venus’ clouds and Venus-like atmospheres, and (iv) application of these investigative themes towards better understanding the atmospheric dynamics and habitability of exoplanets. These themes can serve as a basis for proposed Venus Astrobiology Objectives and suggestions for measurements for future missions, as per the goals and objectives developed by the Venus Exploration Analysis Group (VEXAG), which is sponsored by NASA to plan for the future exploration of Venus. A Venus Collection to be published in Astrobiology journal in 2021 will include papers from the “Habitability of the Venus Cloud Layer”, Moscow (October 2019) workshop.

We show that solar irradiances calculated across Venus' clouds support the potential for Earth-like phototrophy and that treatment of Venus' aerosols containing neutralized sulfuric acid favor a habitable zone. The phototrophic potential of Venus' atmosphere was assessed by calculating irradiances (200-2000 nm, 15° solar zenith angle, local noon) using a radiative transfer model that accounted for absorption and scattering by the major and minor atmospheric constituents. Comparisons to Earth's surface (46 W m

A lightweight, low-power instrument package to measure,in situ,both (1) the local gaseous environment and (2) the composition and microphysical properties of attendant venusian aerosols is presented. This Aerosol-Sampling Instrument Package (ASIP) would be used to explore cloud chemical and possibly biotic processes on future aerial missions such as multiweek balloon missions and on short-duration ( A quadrupole ion-trap mass spectrometer (QITMS; Madzunkov and Nikolić,J Am Soc Mass Spectrom25:1841–1852, 2014) fed alternately by (1) an aerosol separator that injects only aerosols into a vaporizer and mass spectrometer and (2) the pure aerosol-filtered atmosphere, achieves the compositional measurements. Aerosols vaporized 2SO4aerosols, to better than 20% in 2SO4-relative abundances of 2 × 10−9. An integrated lightweight, compact nephelometer/particle-counter determines the number density and particle sizes of the sampled aerosols.

Understanding Venus will benefit from a dedicated effort through an international program of missions that are coordinated and offering opportunities for coooperation. The recent discovery of phosphene in the Venus clouds and possibility of life will increase the exploration missions and cooperation and coordination will be very benefical.

We present a case for the exploration of Venus as an astrobiology target—(1) investigations focused on the likelihood that liquid water existed on the surface in the past, leading to the potential for the origin and evolution of life, (2) investigations into the potential for habitable zones within Venus’ present-day clouds and Venus-like exo atmospheres, (3) theoretical investigations into how active aerobiology may impact the radiative energy balance of Venus’ clouds and Venus-like atmospheres, and (4) application of these investigative approaches toward better understanding the atmospheric dynamics and habitability of exoplanets. The proximity of Venus to Earth, guidance for exoplanet habitability investigations, and access to the potential cloud habitable layer and surface for prolonged in situ extended measurements together make the planet a very attractive target for near term astrobiological exploration.

How the super-rotation of the Venusian atmosphere is maintained is an outstanding question of the Venus science and geophysical fluid dynamics. We tackled it by using data from Akatsuki. Prior to that, we revisited the meridional circulation by using past observational data: downward solar flux from entry probe and satellite-based radiation observation. With a very simple assumption, we obtained a meridional circulation consistent with the earlier studies based on radiative transfer computation. The result allowed us to order-estimate the eddy angular-momentum forcing needed to maintain the present super-rotation. We derived the eddy forcing by using cloud-tracking winds and thermal infrared data from Akatsuki. In particular, we focused on the pivotal question on the maintenance of the presentation, which is how the angular momentum (per unit mass) is supplied at its peak around the equatorial cloud top to compensate the deceleration by the meridional circulation. It was revealed that the thermal tides provide it, acting to accelerate the super-rotation, through both the horizontal and the vertical angular-momentum transport. Other waves and large-scale horizontal turbulence are found to counteract it to a weaker degree, in contrast to the earlier expectation from the classical Gierasch-Rossow-Williams mechanism. This study provided a number of by-products, such as the detection of turbulent motion and spectra of wind disturbances. This study was published recently as Horinouchi et al. 2020, Science, 368 (6489), 405-409 and its online supplementary material.

We present distributions of the zonal-mean temperature and static stability in the Venusian atmosphere obtained from Venus Express and Akatsuki radio occultation profiles penetrating down to an altitude of 40 km. At latitudes equatorward of 75°, static stability derived from the observed temperature profiles is consistent with previous in-situ measurements in that there is a low-stability layer at altitudes of 50–58 km and highly and moderately stratified layers above 58 km and below 50 km, respectively. Meanwhile, at latitudes poleward of 75°, a low-stability layer extends down to 42 km, which has been unreported in analyses of previous measurements. The deep low-stability layer in the polar region cannot be explained by vertical convection in the middle/lower cloud layer, and the present result thus introduces new constraints on the dynamics of the sub-cloud atmosphere. The Venusian atmosphere is in striking contrast to the Earth’s troposphere, which generally has a deeper low-stability layer at low latitudes than at mid- and high latitudes.

Planetary-scale waves are thought to play a role in powering the yet-unexplained atmospheric superrotation of Venus. Puzzlingly, while Kelvin, Rossby and stationary waves manifest at the upper clouds (65--70 km), no planetary-scale waves or stationary patterns have been reported in the intervening level of the lower clouds (48--55 km), although the latter are probably Lee waves. Using observations by the Akatsuki orbiter and ground-based telescopes, we show that the lower clouds follow a regular cycle punctuated between 30$^{\circ}$N--40$^{\circ}$S by a sharp discontinuity or disruption with potential implications to Venus's general circulation and thermal structure. This disruption exhibits a westward rotation period of $\sim$4.9 days faster than winds at this level ($\sim$6-day period), alters clouds' properties and aerosols, and remains coherent during weeks. Past observations reveal its recurrent nature since at least 1983, and numerical simulations show that a nonlinear Kelvin wave reproduces many of its properties., Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures, 2 animated figures and 2 tables

International audience; Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (HST/STIS) observations were obtained on 3 dates in December 2010 and January 2011 recording the cloud top properties over Aphrodite Terra and a low elevation region downwind of Aphrodite through LSTs extending from 7 to 11 a.m. From these data we trace the cloud top sulfur-oxide chemistry and UV albedo sensitivity to LST, latitude and topography. Above regions co-located in LST and latitude, albedo variations observed at 245 nm parallel those observed at 365 nm-following the pattern expected from Hadley cell circulation. However, darkening of the cloud top albedo at LSTs between 9.5 and 11 h beyond that expected from simple Hadley circulation was also observed. Above the plains the albedo darkening intensified rapidly with LST and was observed at latitudes extending as high as ~30 N; however, above the mountains the darkening was either entirely absent or evident only at 0 N at an intensity 2× lower than that observed over the plains. Because the observed 245 nm albedo LST variations were inconsistent with that expected from multiple scattering of the coincidently retrieved SO2 gas abundance, we conclude that the 245 nm albedo is diagnostic of the vertical and spatial distribution, abundance (and potentially the identity) of Venus' unidentified UV absorber—rather than SO2 gas. The LST albedo trends are best explained by the onset of subsolar convective activity that intensifies with LST expanding vertically from the boundary between the middle and upper clouds to the cloud tops and increasing the detectability of the unknown absorbing species at the cloud tops. The terrain dependence in the observed intensity implies the time at which the expansion reaches the cloud tops is later above the mountains than over the plains. Additionally, at the time of observation, the low-latitude large-scale vertical mixing rates that control the latitudinal gradients of the SO2 and unknown absorber abundances above and within the cloud top region were lower over Aphrodite Terra than the plains, to the extent that photochemical processing destroyed the spatial correlation between those absorbing species. These observations show the power of UV spectroscopy to diagnose the distinct influences of deep (Hadley-cell type) and shallow convective mixing processes on the vertical and horizontal distribution of Venus' unknown absorbing species, and the sensitivity of these processes to LST and topography, relative to the sulfur oxide chemistry. These results are essential for accurate climate modeling—and when compared to recent Venus missions motivate a need for additional follow-on observing campaigns that simultaneously trace key cloud top chemistry and dynamic processes including the LST dependent evolution of planetary scale gravity waves (GWs). With the inevitable aging of the Hubble Telescope, follow-on observations providing temporally coincident traces of the cloud top albedo, sulfur-oxide chemistry and GW features will require a new age of space-based telescopes and Venus orbiting mission with sensitivity to UV, visible and IR wavelengths.

An exciting and novel science mission concept called Seismic and Atmospheric Exploration of Venus (SAEVe) has been developed which uses high-temperature electronics to enable a three-order magnitude increase in expected surface life (120 Earth days) over what has been achieved to date. This enables study of long-term, variable phenomena such as the seismicity of Venus and near surface weather, near surface energy balance, and atmospheric chemical composition. SAEVe also serves as a critical pathfinder for more sophisticated landers in the future. For example, first order seismic measurements by SAEVe will allow future missions to deliver better seismometers and systems to support the yet unknown frequency and magnitude of Venus events. SAEVe is focused on science that can be realized with low data volume instruments and will most benefit from temporal operations. The entire mission architecture and operations maximize science while minimizing energy usage and physical size and mass. The entire SAEVe system including its protective entry system is estimated to be around 45 ​kg and approximately 0.6 ​m diameter. These features allow SAEVe to be relatively cost effective and be easily integrated onto a Venus orbiter mission. The technologies needed to implement SAEVe are currently in development by several funded activities. Component and system level work is ongoing under NASA’s Long Lived Insitu Solar System Explorer (LLISSE) project and the HOTTech program. . LLISSE, is a NASA project to develop a small Venus lander that will operate on the surface of Venus for 60 days and measure variations in meteorology, radiance, and atmospheric chemistry. LLISSE is developing a full-function engineering model of a Venus lander that contains essentially all the core capabilities of SAEVe thus greatly reducing the technology risk to SAEVe. The SAEVe long duration Venus lander promises exciting new science and is an ideal complimentary element to many future Venus orbiter missions being proposed or planned today.

Orbits around the two close collinear Sun-Earth Lagrange points have been utilized in recent decades for many solar and astronomical missions to exploit the observational advantages. DSCOVR is the first satellite to observe Earth continuously from the vicinity of the L1 point and is filing a crucial gap in Earth observations with its vast collection of polar, geosynchronous and some retrograde low inclination orbits. Spacecraft orbiting Venus in the last four decades have provided us with a wealth of information and many unanswered questions, which cannot be addressed adequately by observing from polar or near equatorial orbits around the planet. The Sun-Venus collinear Lagrange points L1 (sunward) and L2 (behind the planet from the Sun) points are key vantage points located about a million km away from the planet along the direction to the Sun which enable continuous monitoring of the planet's day and night hemispheres. As spacecraft positions at L1 and L2 points are unstable, they can be inserted in orbits around them to observe Venus over a small range of phase angles unlike any Venus orbiter observations which cover 0–180° solar phase angle twice each orbit for a very long time with minimal station keeping costs. To help better understand Venus, we propose that monitoring Venus continuously at nearly the same phase angle from the vicinity of L1 and L2 Lagrange points is critical. Such Lagrange orbiters around Sun-Venus L1 and L2 points can provide crucial information continuously about the evolution and variability of: (i) reflectance of the global cloud cover, (ii) the night side cloud cover opacity, (iii) surface activity, and (iv) interaction of planet's atmosphere with the solar wind, and loss of atmosphere. In addition, the two Lagrange orbiters can provide a crucial continuous communications capability for relaying data from in-situ atmospheric or surface platforms. Well instrumented missions to L1 and L2 points of Venus would significantly improve our understanding Earth's perplexing neighbor by obtaining continuous record of data on the day and night hemispheres not available from Venus orbiting missions.

International audience; Recent observations of sulfur containing species (SO2, SO, OCS, and H2SO4) in Venus’ mesosphere have generated controversy and great interest in the scientific community. These observations revealed unexpected spatial patterns and spatial/temporal variability that have not been satisfactorily explained by models. Sulfur oxide chemistry on Venus is closely linked to the global-scale cloud and haze layers, which are composed primarily of concentrated sulfuric acid. Sulfur oxide observations provide therefore important insight into the on-going chemical evolution of Venus’ atmosphere, atmospheric dynamics, and possible volcanism.This paper is the first of a series of two investigating the SO2 and SO variability in the Venus atmosphere. This first part of the study will focus on the vertical distribution of SO2, considering mostly observations performed by instruments and techniques providing accurate vertical information. This comprises instruments in space (SPICAV/SOIR suite on board Venus Express) and Earth-based instruments (JCMT). The most noticeable feature of the vertical profile of the SO2 abundance in the Venus atmosphere is the presence of an inversion layer located at about 70–75 km, with VMRs increasing above. The observations presented in this compilation indicate that at least one other significant sulfur reservoir (in addition to SO2 and SO) must be present throughout the 70–100 km altitude region to explain the inversion in the SO2 vertical profile. No photochemical model has an explanation for this behaviour. GCM modelling indicates that dynamics may play an important role in generating an inflection point at 75 km altitude but does not provide a definitive explanation of the source of the inflection at all local times or latitudesThe current study has been carried out within the frame of the International Space Science Institute (ISSI) International Team entitled ‘SO2 variability in the Venus atmosphere’.

The lower cloud layer of Venus (47.5-50.5 km) is an exceptional target for exploration due to the favorable conditions for microbial life, including moderate temperatures and pressures (∼60°C and 1 atm), and the presence of micron-sized sulfuric acid aerosols. Nearly a century after the ultraviolet (UV) contrasts of Venus' cloud layer were discovered with Earth-based photographs, the substances and mechanisms responsible for the changes in Venus' contrasts and albedo are still unknown. While current models include sulfur dioxide and iron chloride as the UV absorbers, the temporal and spatial changes in contrasts, and albedo, between 330 and 500 nm, remain to be fully explained. Within this context, we present a discussion regarding the potential for microorganisms to survive in Venus' lower clouds and contribute to the observed bulk spectra. In this article, we provide an overview of relevant Venus observations, compare the spectral and physical properties of Venus' clouds to terrestrial biological materials, review the potential for an iron- and sulfur-centered metabolism in the clouds, discuss conceivable mechanisms of transport from the surface toward a more habitable zone in the clouds, and identify spectral and biological experiments that could measure the habitability of Venus' clouds and terrestrial analogues. Together, our lines of reasoning suggest that particles in Venus' lower clouds contain sufficient mass balance to harbor microorganisms, water, and solutes, and potentially sufficient biomass to be detected by optical methods. As such, the comparisons presented in this article warrant further investigations into the prospect of biosignatures in Venus' clouds.

International audience; The vertical distribution of sulfur species in the Venus atmosphere has been investigated and discussed in Part I of this series of papers dealing with the variability of SO2 on Venus. In this second part, we focus our attention on the spatial (horizontal) and temporal variability exhibited by SO2. Appropriate data sets – SPICAV/UV nadir observations from Venus Express, ground-based ALMA and TEXES, as well as UV observation on the Hubble Space Telescope – have been considered for this analysis. High variability both on short-term and short-scale are observed. The long-term trend observed by these instruments shows a succession of rapid increases followed by slow decreases in the SO2 abundance at the cloud top level, implying that the transport of air from lower altitudes plays an important role. The origins of the larger amplitude short-scale, short-term variability observed at the cloud tops are not yet known but are likely also connected to variations in vertical transport of SO2 and possibly to variations in the abundance and production and loss of H2O, H2SO4, and Sx.

Context. Radio occultation is a technique used to study planetary atmospheres by means of the refraction and absorption of a spacecraft carrier signal through the atmosphere of the celestial body of interest, as detected from a ground station on Earth. This technique is usually employed by the deep space tracking and communication facilities (e.g., NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN), ESA’s Estrack). Aims. We want to characterize the capabilities of the Planetary Radio Interferometry and Doppler Experiment (PRIDE) technique for radio occultation experiments, using radio telescopes equipped with Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) instrumentation. Methods. We conducted a test with ESA’s Venus Express (VEX), to evaluate the performance of the PRIDE technique for this particular application. We explain in detail the data processing pipeline of radio occultation experiments with PRIDE, based on the collection of so-called open-loop Doppler data with VLBI stations, and perform an error propagation analysis of the technique. Results. With the VEX test case and the corresponding error analysis, we have demonstrated that the PRIDE setup and processing pipeline is suited for radio occultation experiments of planetary bodies. The noise budget of the open-loop Doppler data collected with PRIDE indicated that the uncertainties in the derived density and temperature profiles remain within the range of uncertainties reported in previous Venus’ studies. Open-loop Doppler data can probe deeper layers of thick atmospheres, such as that of Venus, when compared to closed-loop Doppler data. Furthermore, PRIDE through the VLBI networks around the world, provides a wide coverage and range of large antenna dishes, that can be used for this type of experiments.

Six years of continuous monitoring of Venus by European Space Agency’s Venus Express orbiter provides an opportunity to study dynamics of the atmosphere our neighbor planet. Venus Monitoring Camera (VMC) on-board the orbiter has acquired the longest and the most complete so far set of ultra violet images of Venus. These images enable a study the cloud level circulation by tracking motion of the cloud features. The highly elliptical polar orbit of Venus Express provides optimal conditions for observations of the Southern hemisphere at varying spatial resolution. Out of the 2300 orbits of Venus Express over which the images used in the study cover about 10 Venus years. Out of these, we tracked cloud features in images obtained in 127 orbits by a manual cloud tracking technique and by a digital correlation method in 576 orbits. Total number of wind vectors derived in this work is 45,600 for the manual tracking and 391,600 for the digital method. This allowed us to determine the mean circulation, its long-term and diurnal trends, orbit-to-orbit variations and periodicities. We also present the first results of tracking features in the VMC near-IR images. In low latitudes the mean zonal wind at cloud tops (67 ± 2 km following: Rossow, W.B., Del Genio, A.T., Eichler, T. [1990]. J. Atmos. Sci. 47, 2053–2084) is about 90 m/s with a maximum of about 100 m/s at 40–50°S. Poleward of 50°S the average zonal wind speed decreases with latitude. The corresponding atmospheric rotation period at cloud tops has a maximum of about 5 days at equator, decreases to approximately 3 days in middle latitudes and stays almost constant poleward from 50°S. The mean poleward meridional wind slowly increases from zero value at the equator to about 10 m/s at 50°S and then decreases to zero at the pole. The error of an individual measurement is 7.5–30 m/s. Wind speeds of 70–80 m/s were derived from near-IR images at low latitudes. The VMC observations indicate a long term trend for the zonal wind speed at low latitudes to increase from 85 m/s in the beginning of the mission to 110 m/s by the middle of 2012. VMC UV observations also showed significant short term variations of the mean flow. The velocity difference between consecutive orbits in the region of mid-latitude jet could reach 30 m/s that likely indicates vacillation of the mean flow between jet-like regime and quasi-solid body rotation at mid-latitudes. Fourier analysis revealed periodicities in the zonal circulation at low latitudes. Within the equatorial region, up to 35°S, the zonal wind show an oscillation with a period of 4.1–5 days (4.83 days on average) that is close to the super-rotation period at the equator. The wave amplitude is 4–17 m/s and decreases with latitude, a feature of the Kelvin wave. The VMC observations showed a clear diurnal signature. A minimum in the zonal speed was found close to the noon (11–14 h) and maxima in the morning (8–9 h) and in the evening (16–17 h). The meridional component peaks in the early afternoon (13–15 h) at around 50°S latitude. The minimum of the meridional component is located at low latitudes in the morning (8–11 h). The horizontal divergence of the mean cloud motions associated with the diurnal pattern suggests upwelling motions in the morning at low latitudes and downwelling flow in the afternoon in the cold collar region.

EnVision is an ambitious but low-risk response to ESA's call for a medium-size mission opportunity for a launch in 2022. Venus is the planet most similar to Earth in mass, bulk properties and orbital distance, but has evolved to become extremely hostile to life. EnVision's 5-year mission objectives are to determine the nature of and rate of change caused by geological and atmospheric processes, to distinguish between competing theories about its evolution and to help predict the habitability of extrasolar planets. Three instrument suites will address specific surface, atmosphere and ionosphere science goals. The Surface Science Suite consists of a 2.2 m 2 radar antenna with Interferometer, Radiometer and Altimeter operating modes, supported by a complementary IR surface emissivity mapper and an advanced accelerometer for orbit control and gravity mapping. This suite will determine topographic changes caused by volcanic, tectonic and atmospheric processes at rates as low as 1 mm a -1. The Atmosphere Science Suite consists of a Doppler LIDAR for cloud top altitude, wind speed and mesospheric structure mapping, complemented by IR and UV spectrometers and a spectrophotopolarimeter, all designed to map the dynamic features and compositions of the clouds and middle atmosphere to identify the effects of volcanic and solar processes. The Ionosphere Science Suite uses a double Langmiur probe and vector magnetometer to understand the behaviour and long-term evolution of the ionosphere and induced magnetosphere. The suite also includes an interplanetary particle analyser to determine the delivery rate of water and other components to the atmosphere. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Since the discovery of ultraviolet markings on Venus, their observations have been a powerful tool to study the morphology, motions and dynamical state at the cloud top level. Here we present the results of investigation of the cloud top morphology performed by the Venus Monitoring Camera (VMC) during more than 3 years of the Venus Express mission. The camera acquires images in four narrow-band filters centered at 365, 513, 965 and 1010 nm with spatial resolution from 50 km at apocentre to a few hundred of meters at pericentre. The VMC experiment provides a significant improvement in the Venus imaging as compared to the capabilities of the earlier missions. The camera discovered new cloud features like bright “lace clouds” and cloud columns at the low latitudes, dark polar oval and narrow circular and spiral “grooves” in the polar regions, different types of waves at the high latitudes. The VMC observations revealed detailed structure of the sub-solar region and the afternoon convective wake, the bow-shape features and convective cells, the mid-latitude transition region and the “polar cap”. The polar orbit of the satellite enables for the first time nadir viewing of the Southern polar regions and an opportunity to zoom in on the planet. The experiment returned numerous images of the Venus limb and documented global and local brightening events. VMC provided almost continuous monitoring of the planet with high temporal resolution that allowed one to follow changes in the cloud morphology at various scales. We present the in-flight performance of the instrument and focus in particular on the data from the ultraviolet channel, centered at the characteristic wavelength of the unknown UV absorber that yields the highest contrasts on the cloud top. Low latitudes are dominated by relatively dark clouds that have mottled and fragmented appearance clearly indicating convective activity in the sub-solar region. At ∼50° latitude this pattern gives way to streaky clouds suggesting that horizontal, almost laminar, flow prevails here. Poleward from about 60°S the planet is covered by almost featureless bright polar hood sometimes crossed by dark narrow (∼300 km) spiral or circular structures. This global cloud pattern can change on time scales of a few days resulting in global and local “brightening events” when the bright haze can extend far into low latitudes and/or increase its brightness by 30%. Close-up snapshots reveal plenty of morphological details like convective cells, cloud streaks, cumulus-like columns, wave trains. Different kinds of small scale waves are frequently observed at the cloud top. The wave activity is mainly observed in the 65–80° latitude band and is in particular concentrated in the region of Ishtar Terra that suggests their possible orographic origin. The VMC observations have important implications for the problems of the unknown UV absorber, microphysical processes, dynamics and radiative energy balance at the cloud tops. They are only briefly discussed in the paper, but each of them will be the subject of a dedicated study.

The dynamics of Venus’ mesosphere (60–100 km altitude) was investigated using data acquired by the radio-occultation experiment VeRa on board Venus Express. VeRa provides vertical profiles of density, temperature and pressure between 40 and 90 km of altitude with a vertical resolution of few hundred meters of both the Northern and Southern hemisphere. Pressure and temperature vertical profiles were used to derive zonal winds by applying an approximation of the Navier–Stokes equation, the cyclostrophic balance, which applies well on slowly rotating planets with fast zonal winds, like Venus and Titan. The main features of the retrieved winds are a midlatitude jet with a maximum speed up to 140 ± 15 m s −1 which extends between 20°S and 50°S latitude at 70 km altitude and a decrease of wind speed with increasing height above the jet. Cyclostrophic winds show satisfactory agreement with the cloud-tracked winds derived from the Venus Monitoring Camera (VMC/VEx) UV images, although a disagreement is observed at the equator and near the pole due to the breakdown of the cyclostrophic approximation. Knowledge of both temperature and wind fields allowed us to study the stability of the atmosphere with respect to convection and turbulence. The Richardson number Ri was evaluated from zonal field of measured temperatures and thermal winds. The atmosphere is characterised by a low value of Richardson number from ∼45 km up to ∼60 km altitude at all latitudes that corresponds to the lower and middle cloud layer indicating an almost adiabatic atmosphere. A high value of Richardson number was found in the region of the midlatitude jet indicating a highly stable atmosphere. The necessary condition for barotropic instability was verified: it is satisfied on the poleward side of the midlatitude jet, indicating the possible presence of wave instability.

The Venus Express mission will focus on a global investigation of the Venus atmosphere and plasma environment, while additionally measuring some surface properties from orbit. The instruments PFS and SPICAV inherited from the Mars Express mission and VIRTIS from Rosetta form a powerful spectrometric and spectro-imaging payload suite. Venus Monitoring Camera (VMC)—a miniature wide-angle camera with 17.5° field of view—was specifically designed and built to complement these experiments and provide imaging context for the whole mission. VMC will take images of Venus in four narrow band filters (365, 513, 965, and 1000 nm) all sharing one CCD. Spatial resolution on the cloud tops will range from 0.2 km/px at pericentre to 45 km/px at apocentre when the full Venus disc will be in the field of view. VMC will fulfill the following science goals: (1) study of the distribution and nature of the unknown UV absorber; (2) determination of the wind field at the cloud tops (70 km) by tracking the UV features; (3) thermal mapping of the surface in the 1 μm transparency “window” on the night side; (4) determination of the global wind field in the main cloud deck (50 km) by tracking near-IR features; (5) study of the lapse rate and H2O content in the lower 6–10 km; (6) mapping O2 night-glow and its variability.

The Venus Monitoring Camera (VMC) carried by European Space Agency’s Venus Express orbiter (Svedhem et al., 2007) consists of four optical units, each with a separate filter casting an image on a single CCD ( Markiewicz et al., 2007a , 2007b ). The desire to capture as much of the planet in a single frame during the spacecraft’s 24 h, 0.84 eccentricity orbit led to optics with 18° field of view. Analysis of Venus images obtained by the VMC indicated that the computed limb radius and altitude of haze layers were somewhat inconsistent with prior knowledge and expectations. Possible causes include errors in the knowledge of image geometry, misalignment of the optic axis from the pointing direction, and optical distortion. These were explored and eliminated, leaving only deviations from the ground and pre-solar damage estimate of the focal length lengths as the most likely reason. We use the location of planet’s limb to estimate the focal length of each camera using images of the planet when the orbiter was more than 20,000 km from planet center. The method relies on the limb radius to be constant at least over a small range of solar zenith angles. We were able to achieve better estimates for the focal lengths for all four cameras and also estimate small offsets to the boresight alignment. An outcome of this analysis is the finding that the slant unit optical depth varies more rapidly with solar zenith angle in the afternoon as compared to morning, with lowest values at local noon. A variation of this level is also observed with latitude. Both are indicative of the presence of overlying haze above the clouds, and the morning afternoon asymmetry suggests different photochemical processes in destruction and production of the haze.

Understanding how the solar system evolved has been one of the driving reasons for exploring the solar system until recently. Now the focus includes planets around other stars and particularly terrestrial planets and habitability. Mercury and Venus are two extreme members in our solar system but are poorly understood. Our closest planetary neighbors, with their proximity to the sun made it challenging to learn much about them from telescopes, as they are accessible for only a short time before sunrise or after sunset for large telescopes (due to scattered light and sensitive detectors). Venus with it global cloud cover made it impossible to learn about its surface, until new advances in radar and microwave techniques. Only partly surveyed by Mariner 10 from three fly-bys during 1974–1976, Mercury remained enigmatic until MESSENGER. By contrast, Venus has been explored from fly-by spacecraft, orbiters, entry probes and landers and even balloons, yet the major science questions have only become sharper. MESSENGER and Venus Express, the two current spacecraft visitors from Earth to the innermost, entered the final phase of their mission lives in summer 2014 as the fuel required for orbit maintenance was depleted. Orbiting Venus since 15 April 2006, Venus Express conducted an aerobraking experiment in June 2014. It collected its last observations on 27 November 2014 when the fuel was exhausted during orbit raise maneuvers, and the spacecraft entered the atmosphere on 18 January 2015. Over more than eight years of observing Venus from its 24 h, polar elliptic orbit, it collected a large amount of data from its operating instruments which have provided new insights into the atmosphere of Venus and to a limited extent, its surface. The MESSENGER spacecraft also observed Venus on its third fly-by of Venus which also yielded some new results.

Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (HST/STIS) UV observations of Venus' upper cloud tops were obtained between 20N and 40S latitude on December 28, 2010; January 22, 2011 and January 27, 2011 in coordination with the Venus Express (VEx) mission. The high spectral (0.27nm) and spatial (40-60km/pixel) resolution HST/STIS data provide the first direct and simultaneous record of the latitude and local time distribution of Venus' 70-80km SO and SO2 (SOx) gas density on Venus' morning quadrant. These data were obtained simultaneously with (a) VEx/SOIR occultation and/or ground-based James Clerk Maxwell Telescope sub-mm observations that record respectively, Venus' near-terminator SO2 and dayside SOx vertical profiles between ~75 and 100km; and (b) 0.36μm VEx/VMC images of Venus' cloud-tops. Updating the (Marcq, E. et al. [2011]. Icarus 211, 58-69) radiative transfer model SO2 gas column densities of ~2-10μm-atm and ~0.4-1.8μm-atm are retrieved from the December 2010 and January 2011 HST observations, respectively on Venus' dayside (i.e., at solar zenith angles (SZA)x gas densities. On December 28, 2010 SO2 VMR values ~280-290ppb are retrieved between 74 and 81km from the HST and SOIR data obtained near Venus' morning terminator (at SZAs equal to 70° and 90°, respectively); these values are 10× higher than the HST-retrieved January 2011 near terminator values. Thus, the cloud top SO2 gas abundance declined at all local times between the three HST observing dates. On all dates the average dayside SO2/SO ratio inferred from HST between 70 and 80km is higher than that inferred from the sub-mm the JCMT data above 84km confirming that SOx photolysis is more efficient at higher altitudes. The direct correlation of the SOx gases provides the first clear evidence that SOx photolysis is not the only source for Venus' 70-80km sulfur reservoir. The cloud top SO2 gas density is dependent in part on the vertical transport of the gas from the lower atmosphere; and the 0.24μm cloud top brightness levels are linked to the density of the sub-micron haze. Thus, the new results may suggest a correlation between Venus' cloud-top sub-micron haze density and the vertical transport rate. These new results must be considered in models designed to simulate and explore the relationship between Venus' sulfur chemistry cycle, H2SO4 cloud formation rate and climate evolution. Additionally, we present the first photochemical model that uniquely tracks the transition of the SO2 atmosphere from steady to non-steady state with increasing SZA, as function of altitude within Venus' mesosphere, showing the photochemical and dynamical basis for the factor of ~2 enhancements in the SOx gas densities observed by HST near the terminator above that observed at smaller SZA. These results must also be considered when modeling the long-term evolution of Venus' atmospheric chemistry and dynamics.

Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations in August 2002 show that Neptune’s disk-averaged reflectivity increased significantly since 1996, by 3.2 ± 0.3% at 467 nm, 5.6 ± 0.6% at 673 nm, and 40 ± 4% in the 850–1000 nm band, which mainly results from dramatic brightness increases in restricted latitude bands. When 467-nm HST observations from 1994 to 2002 are added to the 472-nm ground-based results of Lockwood and Thompson (2002, Icarus 56, 37–51), the combined disk-averaged variation from 1972 to 2002 is consistent with a simple seasonal model having a hemispheric response delay relative to solar forcing of ∼30 years (∼73% of a full season).

Corrigendum: Equatorial jet in the lower to middle cloud layer of Venus revealed by Akatsuki

The Aerodynamic design of a “BlimPlane”, (hybrid of Blimp and Airplane) for future in-situ exploration of Venusian atmosphere in 60 to 80 km altitude range has been addressed. It is capable of powered and unpowered operations. The airplane is powered by solar panels installed on its top and bottom surfaces. It is assisted by buoyancy for unpowered operations. The analysis is done by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes models- k-e and SST k-ω are used to simulate different turbulent levels. After mesh independent study different cases were simulated at different altitudes. Operational Reynolds number range is - 1×106 − 20×106 with respect to fuselage length and Mach number range is 0.2–0.7. Glide Ratio and Pitching moment are taken into consideration while estimating the aerodynamic efficiency. Wing-with aerodynamic twist, curved planform and very low wing tip chord length gave low vortex and induced drag. High wing loading near the central portion due to lifting fuselage configuration assists the BlimPlane flight sustainability against a head wind, which in turn simplifies station maintenance by gaining increased lift due to the relative motion with respect to wind.

We present an overview analysis of an airplane concept for a Venus in situ exploration mission. Venus possesses a hostile environment with strong zonal winds and large scale vertical drafts. Further exploration of this mysterious, yet comparable terrestrial planet is of immense scientific interest and potential benefit for the improved understanding of Earth's future climate. Previous probes have not been able to sample the cloud top region of Venus and thus the desire for exploring the feasibility of an unmanned flying platform in the altitude range of 60–70 km is crucial. The airplane is powered by advanced solar panels installed on its top and bottom surfaces, which fully exploits the abundant sunlight available above the clouds as well as the reflected sunlight from the cloud below the flight altitude. The primary focus of this effort is the computational fluid dynamics analysis of the airplane in the atmosphere of Venus, at desired altitudes and various angles of attack. Design optimization is carried out using various wing planform such as straight and elliptic, as compared to a curved wing planform design selected for less induced drag and larger volume for inflation. The airplane sustains its weight by utilizing the ambient winds to gain lift along with the buoyancy generated lift by the helium-filled structure of the airplane. This hybrid airplane concept ensures it's round the clock operation due to the fact that even in the event of airplane mishaps or wing failure, it would lose altitude and rest on the lower, much denser clouds as a fully buoyant configuration. Constraints as well as results for this conceptual design are also presented.

We report on the implications of the observations of the glory phenomenon made recently by Venus Express orbiter. Glory is an optical phenomenon that poses stringent constraints on the cloud properties. These observations thus enable us to constrain two properties of the particles at the cloud tops (about 70 km altitude) which are responsible for a large fraction of the solar energy absorbed by Venus. Firstly we obtain a very accurate estimate of the cloud particles size to be 1.2 μm with a very narrow size distribution. We also find that for the two observations presented here the clouds are homogenous, as far as cloud particles sizes are concerned, on scale of at least 1200 km. This is in contrast to previous estimates that were either local, from entry probes data, or averaged over space and time from polarization data. Secondly we find that the refractive index for the data discussed here is higher than that of sulfuric acid previously proposed for the clouds composition (Hansen, J.E., Hovenier, J.W. [1974]. J. Atmos. Sci. 31, 1137–1160; Ragent, B. et al. [1985]. Adv. Space Res. 5, 85–115). Assuming that the species contributing to the increase of the refractive index is the same as the unknown UV absorber, we are able to constrain the list of candidates. We investigated several possibilities and argue that either small ferric chloride (FeCl 3 ) cores inside sulfuric acid particles or elemental sulfur coating their surface are good explanations of the observation. Both ferric chloride and elemental sulfur have been suggested in the past as candidates for the as yet unknown UV absorber (Krasnopolsky, V.A. [2006]. Planet. Space Sci. 54, 1352–1359; Mills, F.P. et al. [2007]. In: Esposito, L.W., Stofan, E.R., Cravens, T.E. (Eds.), Exploring Venus as a Terrestrial Planet, vol. 176. AGU Monogr. Ser., Washington, DC, pp. 73–100).

We describe and compare two methods of short-exposure, high-definition ground-based imaging of the planet Mercury. Two teams have recorded images of Mercury on different dates, from different locations, and with different observational and data reduction techniques. Both groups have achieved spatial resolutions of km , and the same albedo features and contrast levels appear where the two datasets overlap (longitudes 270–360°). Dark albedo regions appear as mare and correlate well with smooth terrain radar signatures. Bright albedo features agree optically, but less well with radar data. Such confirmations of state-of-the-art optical techniques introduce a new era of ground-based exploration of Mercury's surface and its atmosphere. They offer opportunities for synergistic, cooperative observations before and during the upcoming Messenger and BepiColombo missions to Mercury.

Multicolor imaging of Mercury has been performed with the 0.5 m Swedish Vacuum Solar Telescope (SVST) on La Palma at five elongations from 1995 to 1999, resulting in a global Minnaert normalized map of the surface at ∼200 km resolution. Short exposure CCD imaging has been performed in the optical and near-infrared with broad- and intermediate band filters at wavelengths from 550 to 940 nm . Positions for 86 and morphological parameters for 63 bright albedo features on the Hermean surface have been determined. The distribution of bright albedo features is shown to be spatially uniform on the well known (i.e., observed by Mariner 10) and poorly known hemispheres, as well as for the global surface. The number densities of bright albedo features on the two hemispheres are very similar. This indicates that the late evolutionary history of the Hermean regolith has not varied on regional to global scales in terms of impacts generating bright ray craters, constituting approximately 70% of the detected bright albedo features. The locations of bright albedo features correspond well to those determined from nominal resolution and smeared (to the approximate resolution of the SVST data) Mariner 10 maps. Feature parameters (radius, center intensity and intensity gradient) have been determined and correlated with the geologic nature of a subset of observed features imaged by the Mariner 10 Vidicon camera. No difference in feature properties is apparent between the poorly known and well known hemispheres. Based on a comparitive study of Mariner 10 image data, ray craters tend to have higher center intensities and smaller intensity gradients than bright albedo features which are not ray craters. It is however concluded that it is not possible to uniquely determine the geologic nature of features with a high statistical significance, based on their morphological parameters at ∼200 km resolution. We do not find any general correlation between the locations of radar-bright and optically bright or dark albedo features. The surface contrast decreases from 35% to 25% over the wavelength range 550– 940 nm . The range of feature contrasts is similar for all surface regions, except for the ray crater Kuiper, whose contrast to the mean surrounding surface is 50% at a wavelength of 750 nm . Kuiper is an extreme albedo feature also in terms of its center intensity and slope. The mean value of the Minnaert slope parameter for the global surface is determined to 0.76±0.10. A measured constant value of the Minnaert slope with wavelength indicates that the spectral slope for typical Hermean regolith should be linear over the wavelength range 550– 940 nm .

On 11–12 August 1998, we imaged Neptune using the Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 CCD camera and NICMOS InSb camera to obtain high-spatial-resolution, absolutely calibrated imagery from the visible through the near infrared. We used nine HST orbits to intensively sample one rotation of Neptune, and four additional orbits to sample cloud evolution and motions one and two rotations later. In 1998 Neptune displayed more bright cloud features at southern mid-latitudes (mainly at 30°S and 45°S) than in 1996, producing small, but significant, increases in Neptune's disk-integrated albedo of 1.4±1, 1.9±1, and 9.5±1% for F467M, F673N, and F850LP filters respectively. Averages over longitude regions relatively free of discrete bright clouds did not show substantial brightness changes for most filters. Although we were unable to directly confirm the continued presence in 1998 of the 1996 Northern Great Dark Spot NGDS-32, we did find what we believe to be its bright northern companion cloud at 39°N. The increased extent of both northern and southern companions in 1998 may have obscured the normally dark core of this circulation feature. The 1996 Great Dark Spot NGDS-15 was not visible in 1998. The 1996 dark circumpolar band near 60°–70°S was present in 1998, with somewhat enhanced contrast. Significant evolution of cloud features was found over short time intervals of one and two rotations of Neptune, especially at 31°S, 45°S, and 70°S. Cloud motions in 1998 agree relatively well with the 1989 Voyager smoothed profile of L. A. Sromovsky et al. (1983, Icarus105, 110–141), with some exceptions associated with bright companion clouds, and with small but significant deviations that are consistent with those observed in 1995 and 1996 (Sromovsky et al. 2001, Icarus149, 459–488). These wind profile deviations contribute important modifications to the potential vorticity gradients that control latitudinal drift rates of GDS-scale vortices on Neptune (according to numerical simulations of R. P. LeBeau and T. E. Dowling (1998, Icarus132, 239–265)). However, these modifications alone do not explain the zero latitudinal drift of 1996 NGDS-32.

The first coordinated multispectral imaging of Neptune and Triton, using both the Hubble Space Telescope and the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility in August 1996 (L. A. Sromovsky et al., 149, 416–434, 435–458), provides new insights into Neptune's atmospheric circulation and cloud structure. From our 1996 data we derived cloud-tracked winds for 18 features spanning latitudes from 61°S to 38°N, finding generally close agreement with the smoothed 1989 Voyager wind profile (Sromovsky et al. 1993, Icarus105, 110–141), except for features associated with a northern Great Dark Spot (GDS), which moved with the spot rather than with the local mass flow, providing another example of GDS traveling companions. In addition to finding a GDS at ∼32°N, thought to be the same one first seen in 1994 near the same latitude (Hammel et al. 1995, Science268, 1740–1742), we also found a new kind of GDS at ∼15°N, which is unusual because of its low latitude and lack of a bright companion. From blue images we determined that the dark cloud band near 60°S latitude is significantly nonaxisymmetric, as was a similar band in 1989 Voyager images, both with a wavenumber-one zonal structure and a ∼5° latitudinal variation. We also identified a persistent pattern of clouds at 45°S, which exhibit strong variations in brightness on yearly time scales. Using HST archived observations, we determined cloud-tracked winds for June and November 1994 and September 1995, confirming and extending the 1995 result of Hammel and Lockwood (1997, Icarus129, 466–481) that most winds agreed with the Voyager profile. A significant exception we found in November 1994 is the ∼100 m/s meridional motion within the transient structure identified as the “bright complex” by H. B. Hammel and G. W. Lockwood (1997, Icarus129, 466–481). The integrated brightness of this group of GDS traveling companions is sufficient to produce a hemispheric brightness asymmetry of 0.36 mag (Sromovsky et al., 149, 435–458), comparable to the 0.44 mag associated with the 1987 “outburst” maximum (Hammel et al. 1992, Icarus99, 363–367). We determined spectral differences in cloud bands using complete global mosaics of 1996 imagery. Colocation of features in HST and groundbased near-IR images enabled us to characterize spectral variations in discrete features from the visible to 2.4 μm, from which we estimated cloud heights for discrete bright features ranging from 60 to 230 mbars. We found the equatorial atmosphere that is free of bright clouds to be very dark beyond 0.7 μm, from which we derived new upper bounds of ∼0.2 and ∼0.1 at 1.27 and 1.6 μm, respectively, on the single-scattering albedo of the putative 3.8-bar H2S cloud.

On 13–14 August 1996, we carried out the first coordinated contemporaneous imaging of Neptune, using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 and the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) NSFCAM InSb camera to obtain high spatial resolution absolutely calibrated imagery at wavelengths from 0.2 to 2.5 μm. We used nine HST orbits to provide unique dynamical coverage of a single rotation of Neptune. During three orbits we obtained virtually simultaneous groundbased images. These data provide an extended range of wavelengths that sample the Rayleigh scattering regime, both strong and weak methane bands, and strong near-infrared hydrogen collision-induced opacity bands, from which strong constraints can be obtained on the properties of Neptune's cloud features. We developed very precise navigation techniques, which were required to achieve colocation of the observations from these different observatories. Technique advances include compensating for limb profile distortions by bright cloud features in HST images and dealing with a nearly invisible limb in the near-IR groundbased images. We achieved RMS center-finding accuracy of 0.003′′–0.006′′ (0.05–0.1 pixels) for HST navigations. To obtain the subpixel navigation accuracy of the groundbased images, we determined NSFCAM pixel scale versus wavelength and as a function of location on the detector, establishing a distortion correction equation for NSFCAM imaging. This permitted use of a navigation method based on offsetting from Triton, with which we achieved IRTF center-finding accuracy of 0.02′′ (0.1 pixel) RMS, and 0.2–0.3 pixels absolute. We developed a novel differential deconvolution method for significantly reducing deconvolution artifacts within the planetary disk and improving convergence properties for planetary cloud features, resulting in by far the most detailed groundbased images of Neptune yet obtained without speckle imaging or adaptive optics.

Images of Neptune recorded by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Fields/Planetary Camera in late 1991 provide a basis for the first significant comparison with the circulation results obtained from Voyager 2 observations 2 years earlier. The HST images using red (F675W) and methane band (F889N) filters contain isolated bright cloud features suitable for tracking atmospheric motions near planetocentric latitudes of 67°S, 57.5°S, 50°S, 5°N, and 27°N. Wind speeds inferred from the feature rotational periods are consistent with the latitudinal wind profile established by the 1989 Voyager observations. The latitudinal distribution of clouds also matches the Voyager distribution reasonably well, except for a notable lack of clouds between the equator and 40°S, a region where the Great Dark Spot (GDS) and its companion cloud were observed in 1989. The 1991 HST images contain no cloud feature at any latitude with an integrated brightness comparable to the GDS companion, suggesting that the GDS itself may not have survived its projected November 1990 arrival at Neptune's equator.

The deep atmosphere of Venus ( ∼ 180 km including the thermosphere) presents both observational and modeling challenges. Its thick, nearly uniform global cloud cover makes it difficult to fathom the vertical structure of the global circulation through available techniques that are applied to Earth’s atmosphere. Further, the slow rotation of the planet and the consequential prevailing cyclostrophic balance restricts easy inferences about the meridional flow and circulation (Gierasch et al. 1997, Read 1986, Schubert et al. 2007).

In the context of an International Space Science Institute (ISSI) working group, we have conducted a project to compare the most recent General Circulation Models (GCMs) of the Venus atmospheric circulation. A common configuration has been decided, with simple physical parametrization for the solar forcing and the boundary layer scheme.

International audience; This issue of Icarus presents papers on the planet Venus based principally on presentations at two international conferences during the summer of 2010. Under the sponsorship of the European Space Agency, the International Venus Conference (Aussois, France, 20–26 June 2010) focused on the results from the Venus Express Mission. Venus Express is expected to continue operations through December 2014 and beyond. The second conference, “Venus Our Closest Earth-like Planet: From Surface to Thermosphere – How does it work?”, was sponsored by the Venus Exploration Analysis Group (VEXAG) chartered by NASA in Madison, Wisconsin (29 August–1 September, 2010). The work presented at these conferences illustrates the resurgence in Venus research since the arrival at Venus of the European Space Agency’s Venus Express orbiter in April 2006. The issue also includes papers that were inspired by JAXA’s launch of Venus Climate Orbiter (also known as Akatsuki) in May 2010.The papers reflect the international interest in Venus and cover many different aspects of the planet, ranging from interior and surface to the upper atmosphere, with many results focusing on the coupling between different layers. Papers on surface and interior process include electromagnetic sounding of the lithosphere, models of surface atmosphere-interaction, constraints on the process of resurfacing, and links between convective processes and topography and between convection and resurfacing and outgassing. The issue contains 39 papers. Additional papers will be published in later regular issues of the Journal.The Guest Editors are pleased to acknowledge the service provided by numerous dedicated reviewers whose critical comments greatly improved the manuscripts. The Venus Express Project is supported not only by the European Space Agency directly but also by many other countries through support of the respective instrument teams and National Space Agencies. VEXAG is chartered by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (www.lpi.usra.edu/vexag). We would like to thank Dr. Adriana Ocampo (NASA/HQ) for her consistent interest and support of VEXAG activities and Dr. Håkan Svedhem, Venus Express project Scientist for his support for the two conferences. Without the support of the Icarus Editorial Office (particularly Ms. Cheryl Hall) the Guest Editors would have had a formidable challenge in producing this issue on time.

The European Venus Explorer (EVE) mission described in this paper was proposed in December 2010 to ESA as an 'M-class' mission under the Cosmic Vision programme. It consists of a single balloon platform floating in the middle of the main convective cloud layer of Venus at an altitude of 55 km, where temperatures and pressures are benign (~25°C and ~0. 5 bar). The balloon float lifetime would be at least 10 Earth days, long enough to guarantee at least one full circumnavigation of the planet. This offers an ideal platform for the two main science goals of the mission: study of the current climate through detailed characterization of cloud-level atmosphere, and investigation of the formation and evolution of Venus, through careful measurement of noble gas isotopic abundances. These investigations would provide key data for comparative planetology of terrestrial planets in our solar system and beyond. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.