15 December 1970: Venera 7 probe lands on Venus
On this day in 1970 the Soviet Union’s Venera 7 spacecraft successfully landed on the surface of Venus, and sent a brief signal back to Earth.
The father of the Soviet space programme, Sergei Korolev, once wrote “the moon's surface is hard” on a napkin. This allowed work, which had stopped, on the landing gear of the Soviet lunar spacecraft to continue. In the end it was too late, and the United States beat the USSR to the moon. The next race on the calendar was to Venus. And on this day in 1970, the Soviet Union won. The Venera (Russian for Venus) 7 spacecraft landed on the surface of Venus and transmitted a brief weak signal before its batteries ran out.
The Venera programme began in 1961. Officially, there were 16 numbered launches. In reality, there were more, but the Soviet Union only counted those that were relatively successful. The very first launch in February 1961, for example, failed to leave the earth's orbit, so it was renamed and not publicly announced until much later. However, Venera 7 was successful and was the first designed for a soft' landing on Venus. The journey took 120 days, and the probe arrived with all its equipment working. Soon after going into orbit, the craft released the lander and it began hurtling down to the surface.
At approximately 60km above ground, the parachute opened and allowed for atmospheric testing to begin. The first results were beamed back to earth and showed that 97% of the air on Venus was carbon dioxide. Then disaster struck. Somewhere along the descent, the parachute failed and the lander hit the ground at 16.5 metres per second, much faster than anticipated.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Scientists guess that the spacecraft probably bounced off the surface and fell on its side. As a result, the main antenna was not aimed correctly to beam strong signals back to earth. It appeared lost. However, back on earth, the tapes that recorded transmissions from the lander kept rolling.
It wasn't until a few weeks later that scientists began reviewing the tapes and discovered that about 23 minutes of very weak signals had been sent from Venera 7. The craft had managed to survive long enough to send one reading from the surface back to Earth the surface temperature of Venus, which on 15 December 1970, was 475C.
The Venera programme continued until 1984, providing invaluable information, including photographing and mapping the planet's surface.
Sign up to Money Morning
Our team, led by award winning editors, is dedicated to delivering you the top news, analysis, and guides to help you manage your money, grow your investments and build wealth.
MoneyWeek’s mission is to bring you news, analysis and information to help you make informed investment decisions as well as bring you the news that matters to your personal finances. From share tips, the latest on fund performances, and personal finances to what is happening in the economy – our team of award-winning journalists and experts will bring you the information that matters. Our content is always fair, and accurate and our editorial is always independent, meaning our writers are not influenced by advertisers in any way.
-
A junior ISA could turn your child’s pocket money into thousands of pounds
Persuading your child to put their pocket money in a junior ISA might be difficult, but the pennies could quickly grow into pounds – and teach them a valuable lesson about money
By Katie Williams Published
-
Cost of Christmas dinner jumps 6.5% as grocery price inflation rises again
The average Christmas dinner for four now costs £32.57 as grocery price inflation increases - but what does it mean for interest rates?
By Chris Newlands Published
-
31 August 1957: the Federation of Malaya declares independence from the UK
Features On this day in 1957, after ten years of preparation, the Federation of Malaya became an independent nation.
By Jasper Spires Published
-
13 April 1960: the first satellite navigation system is launched
Features On this day in 1960, Nasa sent the Transit 1B satellite into orbit to provide positioning for the US Navy’s fleet of Polaris ballistic missile submarines.
By Ben Judge Published
-
9 April 1838: National Gallery opens in Trafalgar Square
Features On this day in 1838, William Wilkins’ new National Gallery building in Trafalgar Square opened to the public.
By Ben Judge Published
-
3 March 1962: British Antarctic Territory is created
Features On this day in 1962, Britain formed the British Antarctic Territory administered from the Falkland Islands.
By Chris Carter Published
-
10 March 2000: the dotcom bubble peaks
Features Tech mania fanned by the dawning of the internet age inflated the dotcom bubble to maximum extent, on this day in 2000.
By Chris Carter Last updated
-
9 March 1776: Adam Smith publishes 'The Wealth of Nations'
Features On this day in 1776, Adam Smith, the “father of modern economics”, published his hugely influential book The Wealth of Nations.
By Ben Judge Last updated
-
8 March 1817: the New York Stock Exchange is formed
Features On this day in 1817, a group of brokers moved out of a New York coffee house to form what would become the biggest stock exchange in the world.
By Chris Carter Last updated
-
7 March 1969: Queen Elizabeth II officially opens the Victoria Line
Features On this day in 1969, Queen Elizabeth II took only her second trip on the tube to officially open the underground’s newest line – the Victoria Line.
By Ben Judge Last updated