Introduction to Venus Orbiter

What is/are Venus Orbiter?

Venus Orbiter - 02-μm channel of the 2-μm camera (IR2) onboard the Venus orbiter, Akatsuki, from April 4 to May 25, 2016. ^[1] Infrared radiometer (PVOIR) measurements [1, 2, 3] from the 1978-1979 Pioneer Venus Orbiter show that cloud top water vapor has a strong diurnal variation. ^[2] As spacecraft positions at L1 and L2 points are unstable, they can be inserted in orbits around them to observe Venus over a small range of phase angles unlike any Venus orbiter observations which cover 0–180° solar phase angle twice each orbit for a very long time with minimal station keeping costs. ^[3] 7As/InP/Ge triple-junction solar cells (TJSC) at the geosynchronous orbit of Venus had been simulated in this paper by assuming that the solar cells were put on a hypothetical Venus orbiter space station. ^[4] Using VTS3 model, an empirical model based on measurements from Orbiter Neutral Mass Spectrometer on Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) which considers profiles of six neutrals (CO2, O, CO, He, N, and N2), we modified IonA model, named as IonA-VTS3, to find that it reproduced the altitude of V2 peak electron density (hmV2) quite well. ^[5] Using VTS3 model, an empirical model based on measurements from Orbiter Neutral Mass Spectrometer on Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) which considers profiles of six neutrals (CO2, O, CO, He, N, and N2), we modified IonA model, named as IonA-VTS3, to find that it reproduced the altitude of V2 peak electron density (hmV2) quite well. ^[6] The atmospheric composition has been studied to some extent with the Pioneer Venus Orbiter mission and the more recent Venus Express, however, the concentration of many species and their isotopic ratios are not yet known with satisfying accuracy. ^[7]

Pioneer Venus Orbiter

Infrared radiometer (PVOIR) measurements [1, 2, 3] from the 1978-1979 Pioneer Venus Orbiter show that cloud top water vapor has a strong diurnal variation. ^[1] Using VTS3 model, an empirical model based on measurements from Orbiter Neutral Mass Spectrometer on Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) which considers profiles of six neutrals (CO2, O, CO, He, N, and N2), we modified IonA model, named as IonA-VTS3, to find that it reproduced the altitude of V2 peak electron density (hmV2) quite well. ^[2] Using VTS3 model, an empirical model based on measurements from Orbiter Neutral Mass Spectrometer on Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) which considers profiles of six neutrals (CO2, O, CO, He, N, and N2), we modified IonA model, named as IonA-VTS3, to find that it reproduced the altitude of V2 peak electron density (hmV2) quite well. ^[3] The atmospheric composition has been studied to some extent with the Pioneer Venus Orbiter mission and the more recent Venus Express, however, the concentration of many species and their isotopic ratios are not yet known with satisfying accuracy. ^[4]