The European Space Agency launched Venus Express on November 8, 2005, sending the continent's first mission to Venus. The spacecraft was built and flown by the agency, marking Europe's first independent step into exploring the planet next door to Earth.
The central aim of the mission was to study the atmosphere and clouds of Venus, a world wrapped in thick, hot layers of gas that have long puzzled scientists. Understanding that dense atmosphere was among the main reasons the probe was sent to the planet.
The launch marked a milestone for the European Space Agency, which until then had focused much of its planetary work elsewhere in the solar system. Venus Express opened a new chapter for the agency by bringing its own orbiter to the inner planets.
The available material does not include details of the instruments carried aboard the spacecraft or the specific results the mission produced, so those points cannot be confirmed here.