International space programs have focused their attention on Venus on Monday and Tuesday, as NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will do a "double flyby" of the planet.

The Solar Orbiter approached Venus on Monday, while BepiColombo will approach the planet on Tuesday.

"The double flyby ... offers an unprecedented opportunity to study the Venus environment from different locations at the same time and, moreover, in locations that are not typically visited by a dedicated planetary orbiter," ESA said on its website.

A space mission by ESA and NASA early Monday morning took the first-ever images of the sun’s poles. ESA said in its statement that this is crucial to get a better understanding of how the sun works and to predict space weather.

The spacecraft Solar Orbiter flew 4,968 miles near Venus in order to lose some orbital energy to get the images.

The help from Venus’s gravitational assist allowed Solar Orbiter to tilt at the proper orbital angle to get the photographs of the sun's poles.

"Throughout its mission it makes repeated gravity assist flybys of Venus to get closer to the Sun, and to change its orbital inclination, boosting it out of the ecliptic plane, to get the best – and first – views of the Sun’s poles," said ESA.

The space mission by ESA and the Japanese space agency JAXA involved the spacecraft BepiColombo using the gravitational pull of Venus to help navigate its way into Mercury’s orbit and counter the gravitational pull of the sun.

"BepiColombo is on its way to the mysterious innermost planet of the solar system, Mercury. It needs flybys of Earth, Venus, and Mercury itself, together with the spacecraft’s solar electric propulsion system, to help steer into Mercury orbit against the immense gravitational pull of the Sun," ESA said.

This mission will get much closer to Venus as well in the process, with plans to fly just 341 miles away.

Even though the destination of the two spacecrafts is not specifically for Venus, the planet plays a big role in successfully achieving the missions.

Black and white images from the Venus flybys will be taken and released on Monday and Tuesday. High-resolution images cannot be taken of Venus because the two spacecraft’s science camera’s will be used on the main missions.