Humanity's only photos of Venus' surface are over 40 years old but that could soon change as new missions set their sights on Earth's twin.
. As Earth’s twin, learning more about Venus has been a want for astronomers for decades – so why are the only photos of Venus’ surface so old?
It’s because it has been so challenging to get spacecraft there. Venus is extremely hostile, and so far, NASA has only completed a single flyby of Venus with one spacecraft, the Mariner 2, in 1962. The spacecraft completed a 42-minute scan of Earth’s twin, but that wasn’t until 1970, when the Soviet Venera 7 touched down on the planet. In 1975, the Venera 9 touched down, capturing some of the best photos of Venus’ surface.
The Venera 10, Venera 13, and Venera 14 would continue to capture photos of the surface throughout the early 1980s. But for every spacecraft that succeeded, others failed, and when the Soviet Venera 3 impacted Venus in 1965, it was the first to succeed after eight failed missions. It’s the surface that makes this planet so hostile, with the photos of Venus’ surface showing a cracked, dusty landscape.
This landscape is dominated by extreme heat and crushing atmospheric pressure. On Venus, temperatures range from 820 to 900 degrees Fahrenheit , making it much more difficult to explore than the significantly colder surface of Mars, which averages -81 degrees Fahrenheit .to Venus, starting with the DAVINCHI spacecraft, which will study atmospheric descent on the planet. With other missions set to follow that one, perhaps NASA will soon have some new photos of Venus’ surface to show off.
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