Venera 12
Venera 12 — Venera 11's twin (landed 21 December 1978). Its lander transmitted for 110 minutes, sharing Venera 11's camera and soil-sampler failures and its findings. Its flyby craft went on to study gamma-ray bursts and Comet Bradfield, until contact was lost on 18 April 1980.
Key facts
Mission & specifications
Mission
- Operator
- Lavochkin (USSR)
- Launched
- September 14, 1978
- Status
- Completed
Trajectory
- Distance from the Sun
- 0.726 AU
- Computed from the cached position
- Distance from Earth
- 0.371 AU
- Computed from cached positions
- Distance from Venus
- 0.169 AU
- Computed from cached positions
Mission
Venera 12 was Venera 11's twin, launched on 14 September 1978 and arriving first. Its lander separated on 19 December and touched down on 21 December at 03:30 UT, at 7° S, 294° E, after about an hour's descent. It transmitted for 110 minutes, and it met exactly the same misfortunes as Venera 11: the camera's lens cover did not come off and the soil sample was not delivered to its chamber. Its atmospheric results matched its twin's — signs of lightning, sulphur and chlorine in the clouds, and carbon monoxide at low altitude. Its flyby craft had a longer life. After passing Venus it carried on around the Sun, recording gamma-ray bursts and, in February and March 1980, taking ultraviolet measurements of Comet Bradfield. After a final session on 18 April 1980 its orientation system failed and contact was lost.
- 1978Venera 12 launches toward Venus on a Proton rocketLaunch
Venera 11's twin sets out five days behind it.
110 minutes on the surface, with the same camera and sampler failures as its twin.
- 1980Last contactMission end
Its flyby craft, which had observed Comet Bradfield, loses its orientation.
Images
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