Venus Express en route to probe the planet's hidden mysteries   The Soyuz FG-Fregat vehicle carrying Venus Express, ESA's first probe to Venus, lifts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 04:33 CET on 9 November 2005.   Prof. David Southwood, Director of ESA Science programmes, and Jean-Yves Le Gall, CEO of Starsem and Arianespace, congratulating each other after successful spacecraft separation, after the launch of Venus Express, 9 November 2005.   The fully integrated Soyuz FG-Fregat vehicle carrying Venus Express, ESA's first probe to Venus, is transferred and erected on launch complex, in Baikonour, Kazakhstan. The Venus Express spacecraft launch is now scheduled for Wednesday, 9 November 2005, at 03:33 GMT (4:33 CET). Full speed ahead for Venus     Animation showing the Venus Orbit Insertion (VOI) burn (where Venus Express fires its engine to slow down enough to be captured by the gravity of Venus and enter orbit). Exploring other planets to better understand planet Earth       A cutaway diagram showing size and locations of Venus Express instruments: MAG, VIRTIS, PFS, SPICAM/SOIR, VMC, VeRa and ASPERA. Release date: 17 February 2006