What is the Soviet Union's Venus exploration project 'Venera Project'?



In the 1900s, when space race was intensifying, the Soviet Union (Soviet Union), which had been quarreling with the United States, succeeded in sending a

spacecraft to the surface of the moon for the first time in human history, and also made the spacecraft reach the surface of Venus for the first time. increase. Taipei news writer Jon Y explains the history of the Soviet Union's arrival at Venus.

How the Soviets Put a Lander on Venus --by Jon Y
https://asianometry.substack.com/p/how-the-soviets-put-a-lander-on-venus

Jon said, 'The surface of Venus is 462 degrees Celsius, and the atmospheric pressure is equivalent to the water pressure at a depth of 1 km on Earth. It must be, and landing is the second most difficult planet in the solar system after the sun. '

In 1961, the spacecraft 'Venera 1' was launched by the Venera project (Venera: meaning 'Venus' in Russian) launched by the Soviet Union. The purpose of the Venera project was for the Soviet Union to overtake the United States to reach Venus at a time when the space race was intensifying.

After the launch of Venera 1 and the subsequent Nos. 2 and 3, Venera 4 will be launched in October 1967. Venera 4 succeeds in entering the atmosphere of Venus. The temperature at the time of entry reached 11,000 degrees and the acceleration reached 450 G, but it passed through the atmosphere safely and continued to send data.

Immediately after the passage, the temperature was 39 degrees Celsius, and the atmospheric pressure was almost the same as that of the earth, but gradually both numbers began to rise, far exceeding the engineer's expectations. Approximately 93 minutes after the start of the mission, Venera 4 was destroyed at a point approximately 27 km above the sky. The measured values at the time of collapse are recorded as a temperature of 530 degrees and 22 atmospheres.

The day after Venera 4 rushed into Venus, the American spacecraft Mariner 5 approached Venus and collected data on Venus' atmospheric pressure. The United States and the Soviet Union come to the conclusion that 'Venus is a much harsher environment than imagined' from the data of both spacecraft.

The Soviet Union subsequently rushed Venera 5 and Venera 6 into Venus, and succeeded in collecting and transmitting data for 53 minutes and 51 minutes from the entry into the atmosphere, respectively. Then, in 1970, Venera 7 with enhanced corrosion resistance, heat resistance, and pressure resistance will be launched based on all the data so far. Inspired by the submarine design, Venera 7 was designed to look like a pressure-resistant egg, with changes such as the parachute opening closer to the ground.



Venera 7 arrived on Venus in December 1970 after four months of flight. The parachute worked as intended and continued to transmit data for 35 minutes after entering the atmosphere. However, when the parachute melted on the way, Venera 7 fell to the ground at a speed of 60 km / h, and then the signal was cut off. Engineers expected the destruction of Venera 7, but a few months later, radio astronomy confirmed weak radio waves, and it turned out that Venera 7 was alive. This launch paved the way for later exploration of Venus.

After that, a spacecraft equipped with a camera was launched, and it was in October 1970 that the state of Venus was clarified concretely. Venera 9 and 10 were dropped on Venus several days in a row, informing the Earth of the existence of rocks, soil, the horizon, and the wind. The launch was praised for its remarkable success for the Soviet Union.


by

Kordite

After that, the brushed-up Venera 13 and 14 were launched, and succeeded in taking a color photograph of the orange sky and collecting environmental sounds picked up by a microphone. However, these were the last aircraft to enter the atmosphere, and the following Nos. 15 and 16 only mapped the terrain of Venus from the orbit.

Since then, space exploration has shifted primarily to the Moon and Mars. 'It's possible to get the spacecraft to Venus today because it was made with technology decades ago, but the reason for not doing so is, of course, the cost. It's done in a day,' Jon said. It's weird to invest a lot of time and resources in exploration. '



'I think the Venera project is an amazing engineering achievement and the pinnacle of space exploration in the Soviet Union,' Jon concludes.

in Science, Posted by log1p_kr