1. Soviet Venera Program

2. Venera Program
Venus and Mars exploration program were part of USSR’s aggressive space exploration program
Roughly parallel programs
Used much of the same hardware in the initial flights
Used same launch vehicles
Venera Molinya/Luna/Sputnik/Sapwood/R-7
Venera Proton

3. Venera Venera 1 launched February 12, 1961
Flyby mission (heliocentric orbit)
No data returned from Venus (communications lost enroute)

4. Venera Zond 1 launched April 2, 1964 Flyby mission
No data returned from Venus (communications lost half-way to Venus)

5. Venera Venera 2 launched November 12, 1965
Flyby mission (heliocentric orbit)
No data returned from Venus (communications lost enroute to Venus)

6. Venera Venera 3 launched November 16, 1965 First Venus lander mission
Successful impact on March 1, 1966
No data returned from Venus (communications failure)
Flyby carrier vehicle in heliocentric orbit

7. Venera Venera 4 launched June 12, 1967 First Venus atmospheric probe
Deployed multiple probe instruments
Data returned until pressure/temp failure 25 km from surface
Flyby bus carried instruments to measure environment and atmosphere

8. Venera
Venera 4 lander
Probe slowed by parachute

9. Venera
Venera 4
probe details

10. Venera Venera 5 launched January 5, 1969
Second Venus atmospheric probe
Similar to Venera 4 design but stronger
Similar results (excessive pressure & temperature failure before reaching surface)

11. Venera Venera 6 launched January 10, 1969
Third successful Venus atmospheric probe
Similar to Venera 4 and 5, with improvements
Similar results (pressure/temp failure before reaching surface)

12. Venera Venera 7 launched August 17, 1970 First successful Venus lander
Similar to Venera 4, 5 and 6
Data returned from the surface for approximately 23 minutes
First probe to return signals from the surface of another planet

13. Venera
Venera 7 lander details

14. Venera Venera 8 launched March 27, 1972 Second successful Venus lander
Similar to Venera 4, 5, 6 and 7
Data returned from surface for 30 min
Confirmed high temperature & pressures on surface
Found suitable light intensity for photography

15. Venera Venera 9 launched June 8, 1975 Successful lander mission
First photographs returned from Venus’ surface
Confirmed 485oC temp and 90 atm. pressure
Rocks littered surface
Small, sharp edges indicated little erosion

16. Venera 9 images

17. Venera Venera 10 launched June 15, 1975 Lander mission
Returned photographs from surface
Similar rock features littered surface

18. Venera Venera 11 launched September 9, 1978
Venus lander similar to Venera 9, 10
Data returned from some instruments but no images
Partial success

19. Venera Venera 12 launched September 14, 1978
Venus lander similar to Venera 9-11
Like Venera 11, data was returned from some instruments but no images
Partial success

20. Venera Venera 13 launched October, 1981
Venus lander similar to Venera 9-12 spacecraft
Venera 13 and 14 were identical
First color photographs of the Venus surface

21. Venera 13 images

22. Venera 13 instruments (partial list)
Camera system
X-ray fluorescence spectrometer
crew drill
Surface sampler
Dynamic penetrometer
Seismometer

23. Venera Venera 14 launched November 4, 1981
Venus lander identical to Venera 13
Surface photographs returned
Surface temp 465 C, pressure 94 atm

24. Venera Venera 15 launched June 2, 1983
Venus orbiter and radar mapping mission
Identical to Venera 16
Surface images made using synthetic aperture radar
Modified orbiter on previous missions

25. Venera SAR image

26. Venera Venera 16 launched June 7, 1983
Venus orbiter and radar mapping mission
Identical to Venera 15
Surface images used synthetic aperture radar
Modified orbiter on previous missions

27. Synthetic Aperture Radar
Venera
Synthetic Aperture Radar
Uses microwave radar signal to illuminate the 2-dimensional target
Motion of spacecraft antenna introduces third dimension
Multiple view is made because of broad beamwidth
Same technique can applied with fixed radar and moving target

28. Venera First used to identify surface features of Venus from the Earth
Transmitter – military radar
Receiver – Aricebo radioastronomy observatory (Puerto Rico)
Venus later imaged with orbiting SAR
First with Pioneer-Venus
High-resolution images of all but the polar regions with Magellan

29. References http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
Data from NASA Space Science Data Center (NSSDC)