Venus Express – The Last Spacecraft to Orbit the Planet

After space programs focused on human flight in low orbit and Mars, Venus was often overlooked. In 2005 however, European Mission Venus Express entered orbit.

Venus was confirmed as being an Earth-like world with dry conditions and past oceans; furthermore, there was evidence of past oceanic circulation patterns as well as a double atmospheric vortex system.

Venera 1 and 2

Venera 1 and 2 were the first spacecraft to reach Venus’ surface, carrying out scientific measurements from above while their landing probes dug into the surface taking pictures and conducting soil analyses.

Images captured by the lander reveal a harsh alien landscape composed of flat basalt-like rocks that had not been worn away by rain. A drill sample was collected, and its composition resembled oceanic basalts found here on Earth.

Venera 13 and 14 landers conducted comprehensive investigations of Venus’ lower atmosphere using an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer, with confirmation of high levels of sulphur dioxide detected via their images as well as evidence for an unusually thick layer of clouds present on Venus.

Venera 15 and 16

Of all 16 spacecraft ever to reach Venus, most have belonged to the Soviet Venera program and were intended to map its surface using high resolution side-looking radar maps.

Each spacecraft was equipped with an 8 centimeter (3-inch) band radar altimeter to map Venus’ topography over eight months, imaging approximately 25% of its surface revealing wide plains, towering volcanoes and intricate networks of tectonic faults. Each probe also carried a camera system which sent back grainy black and white pictures from Venus that proved astonishing nonetheless.

Venera 13 and 14

First generation probes sent to Venus were atmospheric spacecraft designed for short duration mapping missions; these failed under its intense heat and pressure; however, two Soviet Venera landers launched five days apart in 1981 were designed to last much longer.

Equipment included cameras capable of taking panorama images of the surface as well as drilling machines and soil delivery devices. Furthermore, these teams carried numerous instruments designed to take chemical and isotopic measurements as well as monitor scattered light spectra and record electric discharges from the atmosphere.

Venera 13 successfully touched down in the southern hemisphere on March 1, 1982 at 7.5 S and 303 E near Phoebe Regio’s eastern extension, depicting flat terrain extending all the way into space. Its images displayed rocky terrain that extended all the way out toward the horizon.

Venera 7 and 8

After the failures of Cosmos 359 and Venera 4, NPO Lavochkin took it upon itself to design a spacecraft capable of reaching Venus. Venera 7 was first launched into space on December 2, 1970.

Instead of using a parachute to descend, this time around the lander was brought down via airbraking instead. A cooling system helped protect its electronics against Earth’s punishing surface pressures and temperatures.

The lander was equipped with sensors that measured pressure, temperature and wind speed as well as a photometer and gamma-ray spectrometer to gather data about Venus. These measurements confirmed its classification as a hot world with dense atmospheres filled with carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid clouds; additionally the first measurements of Venus’ light level were made by this instrumentation.

Venera 9 and 10

Like its predecessors, Venera III included both an orbiter and lander for surface experiments on Mars; its orbiter would image different wavelengths while relaying transmissions back to Earth from its lander.

The lander had to withstand temperatures and pressures that rivaled that of Mars – this necessitated a completely unique design approach.

Both spacecraft successfully landed on Venus’ day side in 1975 after an extended four-month cruise and made two course corrections, leading up to October 20th when one separated from the other, streaming priceless images back.

Akatsuki

Akatsuki (Japanese for Dawn) experienced a similar fate to Nozomi when its engine shut off during orbital insertion maneuver on December 2010. Engineers with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency are working tirelessly to salvage this $300 million spacecraft.

The Venus Climate Orbiter and Planet-C spacecraft should launch into an orbit around Venus by December 2015. Onboard are five cameras–two each at ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths–and an innovative radio science technique called radio occultation to study Venus’ atmosphere dynamics.

Data collected by this spacecraft should help scientists better comprehend Venus’ atmospheric circulation, cloud physics and surface dynamics as a system. Furthermore, the spacecraft should offer insights into momentum transport mechanisms responsible for maintaining Venus’ super-rotation; an event still poorly understood by science.