Glossary (VENUS)

Aristotle

Aristotle: An ancient Greek philosopher and scientist whose work laid the foundation for much of Western philosophy and natural science.

Law of Planetary Motion

Law of Planetary Motion: Refers to Kepler's laws describing the orbits of planets around the sun, including elliptical orbits and the relationship between orbital period and distance from the sun.

Galileo Galilei

Galileo Galilei: An Italian astronomer, physicist, and engineer who made pioneering observations of the night sky, supporting the Copernican model of heliocentrism.

Heliocentrism

Heliocentrism: The astronomical model that places the sun at the center of the solar system, with planets orbiting around it, proposed by Copernicus and supported by Galileo.

NASA's Mariner 2

NASA's Mariner 2: The first successful spacecraft to fly by Venus, launched in 1962, providing valuable data on the planet's atmosphere and surface.

Venus Express (orbiter)

Venus Express (orbiter): An ESA mission launched in 2005 to study Venus's atmosphere, surface, and interaction with the solar wind, providing detailed data until 2014.

Akatsuki (orbiter)

Akatsuki (orbiter): A Japanese space probe launched by JAXA in 2010 to study the atmosphere and weather patterns of Venus.

NASA's VERITAS

NASA's VERITAS: A planned mission to map the surface of Venus in high resolution, aiming to understand its geologic history and why it developed so differently from Earth.

ESA's EnVision

ESA's EnVision: An upcoming mission by the European Space Agency to study Venus's surface and subsurface, focusing on its geological activity and atmospheric composition.