Venera 7
Encyclopedia
The Venera 7 (manufacturer's designation: 3V (V-70)) was a Soviet
spacecraft
, part of the Venera
series of probes to Venus
. When it landed on the Venusian surface, it became the first man-made spacecraft to successfully land on another planet
and to transmit data from there back to Earth
.
It entered the atmosphere of Venus
on December 15, 1970 and landed on the planet
at 05:34:10 UTC of the same day. Landing coordinates are .
The capsule antenna was extended, and signals were returned for 35 minutes. Venera 7 suddenly went silent. However, recording tapes kept rolling. A few weeks later, another 23 minutes of very weak signals were found on them. The spacecraft had landed on Venus, probably bounced onto its side on landing, and the medium gain antenna was not pointed correctly for strong signal transmission to Earth.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
spacecraft
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
, part of the Venera
Venera
The Venera series probes were developed by the Soviet Union between 1961 and 1984 to gather data from Venus, Venera being the Russian name for Venus...
series of probes to Venus
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
. When it landed on the Venusian surface, it became the first man-made spacecraft to successfully land on another planet
Landings on other planets
This is a list of all spacecraft landings on other planets and bodies in the solar system, including soft landings and both intended and unintended hard impacts...
and to transmit data from there back to Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
.
- Launch date/time: 1970 August 17 at 05:38 UTC
- On-orbit dry mass: 1180 kg
- Lander mass: 495 kg
It entered the atmosphere of Venus
Atmosphere of Venus
The atmosphere of Venus is much denser and hotter than that of Earth. The temperature at the surface is 740 K , while the pressure is 93 bar. The Venusian atmosphere supports opaque clouds made of sulfuric acid, making optical Earth-based and orbital observation of the surface impossible...
on December 15, 1970 and landed on the planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
at 05:34:10 UTC of the same day. Landing coordinates are .
The capsule antenna was extended, and signals were returned for 35 minutes. Venera 7 suddenly went silent. However, recording tapes kept rolling. A few weeks later, another 23 minutes of very weak signals were found on them. The spacecraft had landed on Venus, probably bounced onto its side on landing, and the medium gain antenna was not pointed correctly for strong signal transmission to Earth.
External links
- Venera 7 NASA NSSDC Master Catalog Data
- Plumbing the Atmosphere of Venus
- Venera-7 - the first man-made object to transmit data from a moon