Venera 4: The First Spacecraft to Transmit Data from Venus’ Atmosphere

SPACE — On June 12, 1967, Venera 4 was launched into space on a mission to the planet Venus. The Russian mission made Venera 4 the first spacecraft to transmit data from another planet’s atmosphere.

Venera 4 is a probe designed to study Venus’ atmosphere down to its surface. At first, scientists believed the probe was transmitted into contact with the surface of Venus. But transmission had ended at an altitude of 16 miles, or 27 kilometers, when extreme temperatures and high atmospheric pressure crushed Venera 4.

But from the data collected by the intrepid spacecraft, scientists were able to find out that the surface temperature of Venus is 500 degrees Celsius and the pressure is 75 times that of Earth. It was also found that the atmosphere of Venus consists of 90 to 95 percent carbon dioxide without nitrogen.

Scroll to read

Scroll to read

Russia’s Venera 4 mission then became the basis for subsequent missions, notably the second mission to the underworld planet by American NASA. Source: Space.com