We Aren't the Only Ones

Europe's first space mission to Venus was launched successfully. The Venus Express lifted off on a Russian rocket last Wednesday. The spacecraft will orbit Venus to study its atmosphere, which has experienced runaway greenhouse warming. Scientists hope the two-year mission will shed further light on the mechanisms of climate change on our own world. "Initial checks are ongoing and everything looks good," said Paolo Ferri, deputy flight operations director for Venus Express. You can find a couple of the news articles at BBC News and CNN.

I say more power to the Europeans! Here in the US we Americans think we're the only ones who can launch spacecraft. Lately Europe has made tremendous progress in the "space race". They or China may beat us to Mars. Maybe this will knock a little wind out of our sail and wake our government up.