Venera 3
Venera 3 — the first spacecraft to reach the surface of another planet (launched 16 November 1965). Contact was lost on 16 February 1966, probably from overheating, but the craft flew on and its lander struck Venus on 1 March 1966. It returned no planetary data. Its impact point is known only to lie somewhere between 20° N and 30° S and 60° and 80° E; the site shown is the middle of that area.
Key facts
Mission & specifications
Mission
- Operator
- OKB-1 / Lavochkin (USSR)
- Launched
- November 16, 1965
- Status
- Lost
Trajectory
- Distance from the Sun
- 0.726 AU
- Computed from the cached position
- Distance from Earth
- 0.352 AU
- Computed from cached positions
- Distance from Venus
- 0.127 AU
- Computed from cached positions
Mission
Venera 3 was the first human-made object to reach the surface of another planet, though it arrived silent. Launched on 16 November 1965, it carried a 90 cm spherical lander with parachutes and instruments to measure the temperature, pressure, density and make-up of the atmosphere, and a medallion bearing the coat of arms of the USSR. A course correction was made on 26 December. Then, on 16 February 1966, contact was lost — probably because the spacecraft had overheated. It flew on regardless, released its lander on its own, and on 1 March 1966 the lander entered the atmosphere of Venus and reached the surface, at about 06:56 UT by one estimate. No data came back, and nobody knows exactly where it came down: estimates place the impact between 20° N and 30° S latitude and between 60° and 80° E longitude. The site shown on the map is the middle of that area, not a measured position. It proved a Soviet probe could be delivered to Venus. What happened to it in the atmosphere was the question Venera 4 would answer.
- 1965Launch toward VenusLaunch
A lander on a flyby carrier sets out for the surface of Venus.
- 1966Contact lostMilestone
Probably from overheating; the craft flies on regardless.
The first human-made object to reach another planet's surface — silent, at a site known only roughly.
Images
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