Venera 7

The Venera 7 (Russian: Венера-7 meaning Venus 7) (manufacturer's designation: 3V (V-70)) was a Soviet spacecraft, part of the Venera series of probes to Venus. When it landed on the Venusian surface, it became the first spacecraft to land on another planet and first to transmit data from there back to Earth.

Launch

The probe was launched from Earth on August 17, 1970, at 05:38 UTC. It consisted of an interplanetary bus based on the 3MV system and a lander. During the flight to Venus two in-course corrections were made using the bus's on-board KDU-414 engine.

Landing

It entered the atmosphere of Venus on December 15, 1970. The lander remained attached to the interplanetary bus during the initial stages of atmospheric entry to allow the bus to cool the lander to −8 °C for as long as possible. The lander was ejected once atmospheric buffeting broke the interplanetary bus's lock-on with Earth. The parachute opened at a height of 60 km and atmospheric testing began with results showing the atmosphere to be 97% carbon dioxide. The parachute appeared to fail during the descent, resulting in a descent more rapid than planned. As a result the lander struck the surface of Venus at about 16.5 metres per second (54 ft/s) at 05:37:10 UTC. Landing coordinates are 5°S 351°E / 5°S 351°E / -5; 351.