Venera Space Probes

The Russian Venera probes represent a long-term commitment to exploration of the planet Venus. These probes form the majority of the 20 or so spacecraft which have visited Venus since 1970. The Russian space program sought to explore the atmosphere and surface, while the U.S. Mariner program concentrated on radar mapping of the surface from orbit. The Venera 4 through Venera 12 probes parachuted into the Venus atmosphere between 1967 and 1978. The earlier ones were crushed by the atmosphere before reaching the surface, but Venera 7 became the first spacecraft to soft-land on the planet. It survived 23 minutes, radioing back information on atmospheric pressure and temperature. A number of the later Venera craft survived for up to an hour in the harsh Venusian atmosphere and sent back photographs of the surface and analyses of the air and soil. In 1983 the Venera 15 and Venera 16 orbiters sent back detailed radar maps of large parts of the northern hemisphere of Venus. The resolution was about 2 km.

俄罗斯的维纳探测器体现了对金星探索的长期承诺。这些探测器构成了自1970年以来访问金星的20多艘航天器中的大多数。俄罗斯的航天计划旨在探索金星的大气层和表面，而美国的先驱者计划则专注于从轨道上利用雷达测绘表面。维纳4号至维纳12号探测器于1967年至1978年间分别进入金星大气层。早期的探测器在到达表面之前就被大气压压碎，但维纳7号成为第一个成功软着陆的航天器。它存活了23分钟，传回了关于大气压力和温度的信息。一些后来的维纳探测器在恶劣的金星大气中存活了长达一小时，并传回了表面的照片以及对大气和土壤的分析。1983年，维纳15号和维纳16号轨道器传回了金星北半球大部分区域的详细雷达地图。分辨率约为2公里。