Unveiling Venus: The Astonishing Photos Captured by Soviet Venera Landers

📸The Venera landers, launched by the Soviet Union in the 1960s to 1980s, captured color panoramic photos of Venus's surface.

🌡️Venus has extreme temperatures, reaching about 475 degrees Celsius (900 degrees Fahrenheit), making it the hottest planet in the solar system.

🌧️The thick toxic cloud cover above Venus's surface creates a crushing air pressure more than 90 times that of Earth's.

🪐Venus was once believed to be Earth-like, but it experienced catastrophic climate change, leaving it inhospitable to life.

🚀NASA's upcoming Da Vinci Plus mission aims to study the origin, evolution, and present state of Venus, providing more insights into our neighboring planet.

How were the photos captured by the Venera landers?

—The Venera landers used a telephoto meter located inside the protective shell to capture photos. Light from the surface was directed through a periscope to the camera inside.

Why is it difficult to land on Venus?

—Venus's surface experiences extreme temperatures, pressure, and toxic cloud cover, making it challenging for spacecraft to survive and explore the planet.

Did the Venera landers capture any color photos?

—Yes, the Venera 13 and Venera 14 missions successfully captured color photos of Venus's surface, providing valuable visual information.

What did the Venera landers reveal about Venus's environment?

—The Venera landers revealed a cracked and desolate landscape dominated by flat, dark layered rocks and fine-grained soil material.

What future missions are planned for Venus exploration?

—NASA's Da Vinci Plus mission, set to launch in 2029, will study Venus from the top of its clouds all the way to the ground, providing further insights into the planet.

00:03[Music]

00:10On March 5th, 1982, the Soviet Union's Venera 14 lander successfully touched down on the surface of Venus.

00:19Venera was a series of space probes launched by the Soviet Union to study Venus's environment and capture close-up photos.

01:26Venus's extreme temperatures and pressures make it challenging to land on its surface.

02:26Venera 9 was the first mission to attempt taking photos of the Venesian surface using a telephoto meter placed inside the lander.

02:55Venera 13 and Venera 14 successfully captured color panoramic photos of Venus's surface.

03:32The thick clouds on Venus create a mystery around its surface, making the Venera landers' photos valuable.

06:08Venera 14 also captured photos showing a fractured ground and a hazy horizon on Venus.