Space probes have been placed into orbit around all the five planets known to the ancients: first Mars ( Mariner 9, 1971 ), then Venus ( Venera 9, 1975 ; but landings on Venus and atmospheric probes were performed even earlier ), Jupiter ( Galileo, 1995 ), Saturn ( Cassini / Huygens, 2004 ), and most recently Mercury ( MESSENGER, March 2011 ), and have returned data about these bodies and their natural satellites.

* 1975 – The Soviet unmanned space mission Venera 9 lands on Venus.

* 1975 – Venera 9 becomes the first probe to successfully transmit images from the surface of Venus.

Among the other results, probes of the series became the first man-made devices to enter the atmosphere of another planet ( Venera 4 on October 18, 1967 ), to make a soft landing on another planet ( Venera 7 on December 15, 1970 ), to return images from the planetary surface ( Venera 9 on June 8, 1975 ), and to perform high-resolution radar mapping studies of Venus ( Venera 15 on June 2, 1983 ).

The Venera 9 to 12 probes were of a different design.

They included a transfer and relay bus that had engines to brake into Venus orbit ( Venera 9 and 10, 15 and 16 ) and to serve as receiver and relay for the entry probe's transmissions.

The Venera 9 lander operated for at least 53 minutes and took pictures with one of two cameras ; the other lens cap did not release.

The design was similar to the earlier Venera 9 – 12 landers.

The Venera 9 and 10 landers had two cameras each.

* Venera 11 – 9 September 1978 – Venus flyby and lander

Image: Venera 9 orbiter. jpg | Venera 9First Venus orbiter

** Venera 9

The spacecraft design was based on the previous Venera 9 and Venera 10 missions.

The Venera 15 and 16 spacecraft were identical and were based on modifications to the orbiter portions of the Venera 9 and Venera 14 probes.

** Venera 9

The Venera 15 and 16 spacecraft were identical and were based on modifications to the orbiter portions of the Venera 9 and Venera 14 probes.

* 1970 – Venera program: Venera 7 launched.

* 1970 – Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 successfully land on Venus.

* 1961 – U. S. S. R. launches Venera 1 towards Venus.

* 1967 – Venera program: Venera 4 is launched ( it will become the first space probe to enter another planet's atmosphere and successfully return data ).

* 1966 – Venera 3 Soviet space probe crashes on Venus becoming the first spacecraft to land on another planet's surface.

* 1969 – Venera program: Soviet Venera 6 begins its descent into the atmosphere of Venus, sending back atmospheric data before being crushed by pressure.

* 1969 – Venera program: Venera 5, a Soviet spaceprobe, lands on Venus.

* 1965 – Venera program: the Soviet Union launches the Venera 3 space probe toward Venus, that will be the first spacecraft to reach the surface of another planet.

* January 5 – The Soviet Union launches Venera 5 toward Venus.

* May 16 – Venera program: Venera 5, a Soviet spaceprobe, lands on Venus.

* May 17 – Venera program: Soviet probe Venera 6 begins to descend into Venus ' atmosphere, sending back atmospheric data before being crushed by pressure.

* February 12 – The U. S. S. R. launches Venera 1 towards Venus.

* May 19 – Venera 1 becomes the first man-made object to fly-by another planet by passing Venus ( however, the probe had lost contact with Earth a month earlier and does not send back any data ).

* August 17 – Venera program: Venera 7 is launched.

* November 16 – Venera program: The Soviet Union launches the Venera 3 space probe from Baikonur, Kazakhstan toward Venus ( on March 1, 1966 it became the first spacecraft to reach the surface of another planet ).

Venera 8 was equipped with an extended set of scientific instruments for studying the surface ( gamma-spectrometer etc .).

The cruise bus of Venera 7 and 8 was similar to that of earlier ones, with the design ascending to the Zond 3 mission.

* Venera 8 – 27 March 1972 – Venus lander

** Venera 8

** Venera 8

Venera 8 () ( manufacturer's designation: 3V ( V-72 )) was a probe in the Soviet Venera program for the exploration of Venus.

Venera 8 was a Venus atmospheric probe and lander.

Venera 8 landing capsuleVenera 8 transmitted data during the descent.

Venera 8 landed at 09: 32 UT in what is now called Vasilisa Region, within 150 km radius of, in sunlight, about 500 km from the morning terminator.

* Venera 8 NASA NSSDC Master Catalog Data

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