The Complete Book of Spaceflight: From Apollo 1 to Zero Gravity

Aseries of Soviet probes designed to fly by, orbit,
and land on Venus. The Venera spacecraft, unlike
the Soviet Mars probes, were tremendously successful
and made the first soft landings on and sent back the
first pictures from the surface of Venus. (See table,
“Venera Missions.”)
Venera 1
The first spacecraft to fly past Venus; however, all contact
with the probe was lost just seven days after
launch, when it was about 2 million km from Earth.
After its remote Venusian rendezvous, Venera 1 went
into orbit around the Sun. Note: the first successful
Venus probe was Mariner 2.
Venera 2
Like its predecessor, a flyby mission that suffered a
communications breakdown long before it arrived at
the second planet. Note: the first spacecraft in the
Zond series was actually the second Soviet probe
launched toward Venus, and it too was lost.
Venera 3
The first attempted landing on Venus. The entry vehicle
carried science instruments and medallions bearing
the Soviet emblem. However, communication
with the probe was lost during descent through the
crushing Venusian atmosphere.
Venera 4
The first probe to send back information successfully
during its parachute descent through the atmosphere
of Venus.
Venera 5 and 6
Twin spacecraft similar to Venera 4 but of stronger
design. Each deployed a 405-kg descent probe that
sent back information about the atmosphere for
about 50 minutes. Each also carried a medallion bearing
the Soviet emblem and a bas relief of Lenin to the
night side of Venus but failed to transmit from the
surface.
Venera
Venera 7
The first probe to return data after landing on another
planet. Following aerodynamic braking and deployment
of its parachute system, Venera 7 extended its
antenna and transmitted for 35 minutes during its
descent and a further 23 minutes of very weak signals
from the surface.
Venera 8
The second successful Venus lander. Venera 8 slowed
from 41,696 km/hr to about 900 km/hr by aerobraking,
then opened its 2.5-m-diameter parachute at an
altitude of 60 km and transmitted data during its
descent. A refrigeration system cooled the interior
components and enabled signals to be sent back for
50 minutes after landing. The probe confirmed Venera
7’s data on the high surface temperature and pressure,
and also determined that the light level was
suitable for surface photography, being similar to the
illumination on an overcast day on Earth.
Venera 9 and 10
A pair of identical spacecraft, each consisting of an
orbiter and a lander. After separation of the lander,
the orbiter spacecraft entered orbit around Venus,
studied the upper clouds and atmosphere, and served
as a communications relay for the lander. Each lander
was slowed down sequentially by protective hemispheric
shells, three parachutes, a disk-shaped drag
brake, and a compressible, metal, doughnut-shaped
landing cushion. Each sent back data from the surface
for 53 minutes and 65 minutes, respectively, from
locations about 2,200 km apart, and they became the
first probes to transmit black-and-white pictures from
the Venusian surface. Full 360° shots were not
returned, however, because on each probe one of two
camera covers failed to come off, restricting the field
of view to a half-circle.
Venera 11 and 12
A two-spacecraft mission, each craft consisting of a
flight platform and a lander. After ejection of their
landers, the flight platforms flew past Venus, serving
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