Moscow, Russia - Russia has reached an agreement to explore the planet Venus in a joint mission with the US, the head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, said in a late Saturday interview.

"We have agreed with the Americans on a joint mission to Venus," Rogozin said, adding that together it would be easier to take on the challenge from both an economic and technical point of view.

"Such problems are easier to solve together by using the joint talents of our scientists," Rogozin said, though he did not give a timetable for the mission.

Earth's closest planetary neighbor, Venus is similar in size to our planet, but its surface is shrouded in dense cloud and, due to a catastrophic greenhouse effect, the surface is several hundred degrees Celsius.

Russia originally announced a mission to Venus last year, with preliminary launch dates estimated at between 2027 and 2029. More recently, the United Arab Emirates has also declared its intention to explore the planet.