[Sunday, June 18, 2006] On 3 June at 13:42 UT, after 207 days of flight, 43 orbits around Venus and many test activities, Venus Express has formally completed its commissioning phase and has entered the routine science phase.

[Sunday, June 18, 2006] All activities of Venus Express's first week of the routine phase have been executed as planned without any problem. The performance of the space and the ground segment has been nominal during the reporting period.

[Tuesday, June 27, 2006] Venus Express data undoubtedly confirm for the first time the presence of a huge atmospheric vortex at the planet's south pole. This striking result comes from analysis of the data gathered by the spacecraft during the first orbit around the planet.