News Planetary Science

Sister Planet: Mission to Venus reveals watery past

By Sarah Williams

- More than 2 years ago

Dense clouds of sulfuric acid blanketing Venus have posed a problem for scientists seeking inside information about Earth’s nearest planetary neighbor.

VENUS UNVEILED. The Venus Express probe has delved beneath the thick clouds of our neighboring planet, whose southern hemisphere is shown here. European Space Agency

Now, the Venus Express probe, launched by the European Space Agency in 2005, has ventured beneath those clouds and found evidence that Venus once had more water than it does today.