Soviet Venera Landers Lasted 32 to 127 Minutes on Venus, Returning First Color Images
Updated
Updated · 19FortyFive · Aug 6
Soviet Venera Landers Lasted 32 to 127 Minutes on Venus, Returning First Color Images
2 articles · Updated · 19FortyFive · Aug 6
Summary
Venera landers survived only 32 to 127 minutes after touching down on Venus, with Venera 13 lasting the longest and sending back the first color images and audio from another planet.
Venus destroys hardware with average surface temperatures of 867°F (464°C) and pressure about 92 times Earth’s—roughly equivalent to 3,000 feet underwater—forcing the Soviet craft to use thick titanium hulls, insulation and cooling.
That hostile surface sits beneath an atmosphere made of about 96.5% carbon dioxide and sulfuric-acid clouds, the product of a runaway greenhouse effect that likely followed the loss of ancient water.
Upcoming missions including NASA’s DAVINCI and VERITAS and ESA’s EnVision aim to probe whether Venus once had oceans, remains volcanically active, and why Earth stayed habitable while its sister planet did not.