Venus
Venus, the second planet out from the Sun and named for the Roman goddess of beauty — which is ironic, due to the severely harsh conditions on her surface. If Venus were a person, she would be that psycho girlfriend you got involved with: seemed normal at first, but then things got really, really wacky. Wacky in the sense of life-threatening.
News
Venus spacecraft ‘in good shape’
Europe’s first mission to Venus should be ready for lift-off by the end of the week, officials have confirmed.
Europe’s Venus mission blasts off
Mission controllers in Darmstadt, Germany, confirmed that the probe had left Earth’s orbit and started its journey to Venus about 90 minutes after launch. They picked up the first signal from the spacecraft a few minutes later. Venus Express should reach its target in about five months and enter an elliptical polar orbit.