On August 9 2021, the joint ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft performed a flyby of Venus, coming within 7,995 km of the Venusian surface. Just 33 hours later, on August 10 the joint ESA/JAXA BepiColombo spacecraft flew by the planet, coming within 552 km of the surface.

The historic double flyby was a result of the two spacecraft attempting to reduce their orbital energy while en route to their respective destinations. BepiColombo is traveling to Mercury, where it will study the planet in-depth, while Solar Orbiter is finishing its last flybys before entering the correct orbital inclination to best observe the Sun.

The double flybys required great accuracy and precise deep-space network coordination to ensure the two trajectories did not cross. During the flyby, both BepiColombo and Solar Orbiter collected data on Earth’s sister planet.

There are many strange things happening on Venus. Among them is a recognizable weather pattern that scientists now realize has persisted in the atmosphere for at least 30 years.

# nasa # space # Jupiter # Juno # astronomy.

Join Rod Roddenberry, Gene Roddenberry’s son and Roddenberry Entertainment CEO, George Takei, actor and activist, Administrator Bill Nelson and some of NASA’s best and brightest as they honor Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry’s 100th birthday with a conversation about diversity and inspiration. NASA panelists include: Hortense Diggs, Director of the Office of Communication and Public Engagement at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Tracy Drain, Europa Clipper Flight Systems Engineer, astronaut Jonny Kim, and Swati Mohan, Mars2020Guidance and Controls Operations Lead.

Producer/Editor: Lacey Young

Learn more about what it’s like living in space: http://ow.ly/yHiO50FO9qv