-
Sputnik 7
The final stage of the rocket carrying Sputnik 7 into orbit failed and the spacecraft was unable to achieve the necessary trajectory to carry it on to Venus. -
Venera 1
Communications with the spacecraft was lost while Venera 1 was on its way to Venus. -
Mariner 1
Shortly after launch, the rocket veered off course and was destroyed by ground controllers. -
Sputnik 19
The spacecraft made it into Earth orbit, but the rocket's last stage failed and Sputnik 19 was unable to achieve its Venus trajectory. It re-entered Earth's atmosphere three days later. -
Mariner 2
Mariner 2 was the first spacecraft to successfully fly by Venus, at an altitude of 34,773 kilometers. The spacecraft discovered ground temperatures as high as 428°C (800°F). Other instruments detected no water vapor in the atmosphere or any evidence of a magnetic field around the planet. Radio contact was lost on January 3, 1963. -
Sputnik 20
The rocket's final stage failed and the spacecraft was unable to achieve to escape Earth orbit. -
Sputnik 21
The 3rd stage of the rocket exploded shortly after liftoff, destroying the spacecraft. -
Venera 1964A
The rocket carrying the spacecraft failed to reach Earth orbit. -
Venera 1964B
The rocket carrying the spacecraft failed to reach Earth orbit. -
Cosmos 27
The final stage of the rocket carrying the spacecraft into orbit failed and it was unable to achieve the necessary trajectory to carry it on to Venus. -
Zond 1
Communications with the spacecraft was lost while on its way to Venus. -
Venera 2
Venera 2 flew within 24,000 kilometers (15,000 miles) of Venus on February 27, 1966, but communications with the spacecraft was lost just before its close approach with the planet. -
Venera 3
Venera 3 was the first spacecraft to land on (impact) another planet, but no data was returned. It is believed that Venus's thick atmosphere and crushing pressure destroyed the spacecraft on its way to the surface. -
Venera 4
When Venera 4 arrived at Venus it dropped several instruments, including a thermometer and a barometer, into the atmosphere. It received data back from these probes before it deployed a parachute and descended into the atmosphere itself. Preliminary readings seemed to indicate that the probe had taken measurements all the way down to the surface, but later analysis suggested that the crushing atmosphere damaged the spacecraft at an altitude of almost 25 kilometers. The probe revealed an atmosphe -
Mariner 5
Mariner 5 flew within 4,000 kilometers (2,400 miles) of the Venusian cloud tops. During its flyby, the spacecraft measured a surface temperature of 267°C. -
Cosmos 167
The final stage of the rocket carrying the spacecraft into orbit failed and it was unable to achieve the necessary trajectory to carry it on to Venus. -
Venera 5
Upon its arrival Venera 5 deployed a parachute and descended through the thick atmosphere. Scientists received 53 minutes worth of data as the spacecraft descended 36 kilometers (22 miles). The spacecraft was damaged by the tremendous atmospheric pressure before it reached the surface. -
Venera 6
Twin to Venera 5, Venera 6 arrived just a day after its sister ship. Once at Venus, the spacecraft deployed a parachute and descended through the atmosphere. Scientists on Earth received 51 minutes of data as the probe descended 38 kilometers (almost 24 miles). The spacecraft was damaged the crushing pressure before it reached the surface. -
Venera 7
When Venera 7 arrived it deployed a parachute and began its descent to the surface. Scheduled to take 60 minutes to descend, the probe touched down in only 35 minutes, possibly because its parachute may have been damaged by high winds. The spacecraft then transmitted a weak signal for 23 minutes, becoming the first spacecraft to return data from the surface of another planet. It reported surface temperatures of 475°C and atmospheric pressures 90 times greater than Earth's. -
Cosmos 359
The final stage of the rocket carrying the spacecraft into orbit failed and it was unable to achieve the necessary trajectory to carry it on to Venus. -
Venera 8
Upon Venus arrival Venera 8 used aerobraking to decelerate, and then deployed a parachute. A refrigeration unit cooled the spacecraft's components, protecting them from the intense heat as the lander descended to the surface. Once on the ground, the spacecraft transmitted data for 50 minutes, confirming a very high surface temperature and crushing atmospheric pressure. It also measured the light level on Venus’ surface and found it suitable for surface photography, setting the stage for the ima -
Cosmos 482
The final stage of the rocket carrying the spacecraft into orbit failed and it was unable to achieve the necessary trajectory to carry it on to Venus. -
Mariner 10
Mariner 10 flew by Venus for a gravity assist on its way to Mercury. It flew within 4,200 kilometers (2,600 miles) of Venus and took the first ultraviolet images of the planet. -
Venera 9
The Venera 9 lander separated from the orbiter on October 20, 1975. Two days later, the lander touched down and became the first spacecraft to transmit a picture from the surface of another planet. It landed within a 150-kilometer radius of 31.01° N, 291.64° E. In addition, the lander sent back information on the Venusian clouds, atmospheric composition, and light levels. All of the information was transmitted from the surface to the orbiter, which then relayed the signal to Earth. Besides acti -
Venera 10
The Venera 10 spacecraft separated into two different sections, an orbiter and a lander, on October 23, 1975. Two days later, the lander touched down on the surface of Venus 2,200 kilometers (1370 miles) from the Venera 9 lander, within a 150 km radius of 15.42° N, 291.51° E. With the orbiter acting as a relay, the lander transmitted images from the surface as well as data about clouds and the surface environment. -
Pioneer Venus 1 (Pioneer Venus Orbiter)
Pioneer Venus 1 carried 17 experiments, including a radar mapper. Scientists used the radar to map nearly the entire planet, resolving features as small as 80 kilometers (50 miles). The spacecraft remained in orbit until August of 1992, when it used up all its fuel and burnt up in the atmosphere. -
Pioneer Venus 2 (Pioneer Venus Multiprobe)
Pioneer Venus 2 consisted of four separate atmospheric probes; one large probe 1.5 meters in diameter, which deployed a parachute to slow its descent, and three small probes (0.8 meters or 2.6 feet across) which plunged straight through the atmosphere. The large probe was released from the spacecraft bus on November 16, 1978. The three smaller probes were released four days later. All of the probes arrived at Venus on December 9, 1978. Each probe took atmospheric measurements as they descended -
Venera 11
Pioneer Venus 2 consisted of four separate atmospheric probes; one large probe 1.5 meters in diameter, which deployed a parachute to slow its descent, and three small probes (0.8 meters or 2.6 feet across) which plunged straight through the atmosphere. The large probe was released from the spacecraft bus on November 16, 1978. The three smaller probes were released four days later. All of the probes arrived at Venus on December 9, 1978. Each probe took atmospheric measurements as they descended -
Venera 12
Launched three days after Venera 11, Venera 12 actually made it to Venus four days before the other spacecraft. Venera 12 was designed to study the atmospheric composition and clouds of Venus. The lander transmitted 110 minutes of data before the planet rotated out of range of the orbiting relay. -
Venera 13
Venera 13 returned the first color images from the surface of Venus, landing at 7.5° S, 303° E. A drilling arm collected a sample that was examined by an onboard x-ray fluorescence spectrometer to determine its composition. The lander survived 127 minutes before giving in to the extreme heat (457°C) and the tremendous pressure (84 times the pressure at sea level on Earth). -
Venera 14
Venera 14 sent back images of the surface and a mechanical arm collected a sample for testing. The spacecraft survived for 57 minutes before succumbing to the heat and extreme pressure. -
Venera 15
Venera 15 and 16 created a radar map of Venus over a joint mission lasting 8 months. -
Venera 16
Venera 15 and 16 created a radar map of Venus over a joint mission lasting 8 months. -
Vega 1
As Vega 1 swung by Venus, it deployed a 2.4-meter probe into the atmosphere. The probe deployed a balloon almost immediately upon entering the atmosphere. The balloon, which measured temperature, pressure, wind velocity and visibility of the atmosphere, covered 9,000 kilometers in 47 hours before it burst. The probe took readings of the atmosphere as it descended to the surface. -
Vega 2
Vega 2 was identical to Vega 1. -
Magellan
By the end of its mission, Magellan had mapped over 98% of Venus at a resolution of 100 meters or better using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). Images were acquired over three “cycles” at different geometries, permitting stereoscopic views of parts of the surface. Magellan also acquired topography, slope, radiometry, and scatterometry measurements of the surface over a mission spanning five years. -
Galileo
Galileo flew by Venus on the way to Jupiter, collecting measurements of charged particles, dust and magnetism, infrared and ultraviolet spectral observations, data for infrared lower-atmosphere maps, and 81 camera images. The data were mostly not played back until November, 1990. -
Cassini-Huygens
-
MESSENGER
MESSENGER flew by Venus twice on its way to Mercury. The flybys were used to test the scientific instruments for the later Mercury flybys. -
Venus Express
Venus Express will be the first mission dedicated to studying Venus since the arrival of Magellan in 1990. The mission is primarily intended to study the thick atmosphere of Venus. Its primary mission lasted 2 Venusian days (500 Earth days); it is now in an extended mission. -
Planet-C (Venus Climate Orbiter)
The mission reached Venus on 7 December 2010 (JST) but failed to enter orbit around the planet. It had been intended to conduct scientific research for two or more years from an elliptical orbit ranging from 300 km to 80,000 km from Venus.
