Spacecraft does 'handbrake turn' into Venus loop

An unmanned European spacecraft performed a “handbrake turn” around Venus today as part of a mission that could help explain global warming.

Venus Express, a robotic craft, burned its engine for 50 minutes to slow its speed enough to be captured by the planet’s gravity.

The main engine burn was begun at 8.17am Irish Time by controllers at the European Space Agency’s operations centre in Darmstadt, Germany.

Success means the spacecraft can now loop around the planet’s poles in a tight elliptical orbit, bringing it within 250 miles of the north pole.

After an anxious wait, a message from the ESA declared: “It’s 10.08 (Central European Time - 9.08am Irish Time) and Europe is in orbit around Venus.”