Venera 7

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Venera 7 (3V (V-70))
Venera 7 capsule.jpg
Model of Venera 7 Descent Capsule
Mission type Lander
Satellite of Venus
Orbital insertion date Landed on December 15, 1970
Launch date August 17, 1970 (1970-08-17)
Launch vehicle Molniya Booster Plus Upper Stage and Escape Stages
Mission duration August 17, 1970 to December 15, 1970
Orbital decay N/A
COSPAR ID 1970-060A
Mass 1180 kg

The Venera 7 (Russian: Венера-7) (manufacturer's designation: 3V (V-70)) was a Soviet spacecraft, part of the Venera series of probes to Venus. When it landed on the Venusian surface, it became the first man-made spacecraft to successfully land on another planet and to transmit data from there back to Earth.

  • Launch date/time: 1970 August 17 at 05:38 UTC
  • On-orbit dry mass: 1180 kg
  • Lander mass: 495 kg

It entered the atmosphere of Venus on December 15, 1970 and landed on the planet at 05:34:10 UTC of the same day. Landing coordinates are 5°S 351°E / 5°S 351°E / -5; 351.[1]

The capsule antenna was extended, and signals were returned for 35 minutes. Venera 7 suddenly went silent. However, recording tapes kept rolling. A few weeks later, another 23 minutes of very weak signals were found on them. The spacecraft had landed on Venus, probably bounced onto its side on landing, and the medium gain antenna was not pointed correctly for strong signal transmission to Earth.[2]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Patrick Moore, The data book of astronomy. CRC Press, 2000, p. 92.
    See Table 5-5, Missions to Venus, 1961-2000. Landing near Navka Planitia
  2. ^ Larry Klaes, THE SOVIETS AND VENUS, PART 1, 1993.

[edit] External links

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