PARIS (AFP) -- The European probe, Venus Express, has been slotted into final orbit around Venus, the European Space Agency (ESA) said, adding that the craft's scientific mission would start on June 4 after its instruments hade been tested.

Venus Express, ESA's first dedicated mission to Earth's closest neighbor, is now swinging around the planet in an elliptical orbit ranging from 250 kilometers (156 miles) to 66,000 kms (41,250 miles) around its poles, the Paris-based agency said in a press release.

The probe was "captured" by Venusian gravity on April 11 after a 400-million-kilometre (250-million-mile) trip.

It spent the following weeks gradually maneuvering into an orbit designed to make best use of its seven-instrument payload.

Venus is scheduled to spend 486 Earth days studying the planet's hot, dense atmosphere, which could hold clues about runaway global warming.