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Venera 8

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Venera 8
Assembly of Venera 8
Mission typeVenuslander
OperatorLavochkin
COSPAR ID1972-021AEdit this at Wikidata
SATCATno.5912
Mission durationTravel: 117 days
Lander: 50 minutes
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft4V-1No.670
ManufacturerLavochkin
Launch mass1,184 kilograms (2,610 lb)[1]
Landing mass495 kilograms (1,091 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date27 March 1972, 04:15:06(1972-03-27UTC04:15:06Z)UTC[1]
RocketMolniya-M/MVL
Launch siteBaikonur31/6
End of mission
Last contact22 July 1972(1972-07-23)at 09:32 UT (landing) + 50 min., 11 sec. when transmission ended
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
Semi-major axis6,591 kilometres (4,095 mi)
Eccentricity0.03732
Perigee altitude194 kilometres (121 mi)
Apogee altitude246 kilometres (153 mi)
Inclination51.7°
Period88.9 minutes
Epoch27 March 1972
Venuslander
Landing date22 July 1972, 09:32 UTC
Landing site10°42′S335°15′E/ 10.70°S 335.25°E/-10.70; 335.25

Venera 8(Russian:Венера-8meaningVenus 8) was aprobein theSovietVenera programfor the exploration ofVenusand was the second robotic space probe to conduct a successful landing on the surface of Venus.[2]

Venera 8 was a Venus atmospheric probe and lander. Its instrumentation included temperature, pressure, and light sensors as well as analtimeter,gamma ray spectrometer,gas analyzer,and radio transmitters.

Journey to Venus

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The spacecraft took 118 days to reach Venus with one mid-course correction on 6 April 1972, separating from the bus (which contained acosmic raydetector,solar winddetector, andultravioletspectrometer) and entering the atmosphere on 22 July 1972 at 08:37 UT. A refrigeration system attached to the bus was used to pre-chill the descent capsule's interior prior to atmospheric entry in order to prolong its life on the surface. Descent speed was reduced from 41,696 km/h to about 900 km/h byaerobraking.The 2.5 meter diameter parachute opened at an altitude of 60 km.

Descent

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Venera 8 transmitted data during the descent. A sharp decrease in illumination was noted at 35 to 30 km altitude and wind speeds of less than 1 m/s were measured below 10 km. Venera 8 landed at 09:32 UT in what is now calledVasilisa Regio,within 150 km radius of10°42′S335°15′E/ 10.70°S 335.25°E/-10.70; 335.25,in sunlight, about 500 km from the morningterminator.The lander mass was 495 kg.

Lander

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The lander continued to send back data for 50 minutes, 11 seconds after landing before failing due to the harsh surface conditions. The probe confirmed the earlier data on the high Venus surface temperature and pressure (470 degrees Celsius, 90 atmospheres) returned byVenera 7,and also measured the light level as being suitable for surface photography, finding it to be similar to the amount of light on Earth on an overcast day with roughly 1 km visibility.

Venera 8'sphotometermeasurements showed for the first time that the Venusian clouds end at a high altitude, and the atmosphere was relatively clear from there down to the surface. The on-board gamma ray spectrometer measured theuranium/thorium/potassiumratio of the surface rock, indicating it was similar toAlkali basalt.[3]

Payload experiments

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See also

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References

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  1. ^abSiddiqi, Asif (2018).Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958–2016(PDF)(second ed.). NASA History Program Office.
  2. ^Harvey, Brian (2007).Russian Planetary Exploration History, Development, Legacy and Prospects.Springer-Praxis. pp. 115–118.ISBN9780387463438.
  3. ^Ulivi, Paolo; Harland, David M (2007).Robotic Exploration of the Solar System Part I: The Golden Age 1957–1982.Springer. pp. 159–160.ISBN9780387493268.
  4. ^abcdUlivi, Paolo; Harland, David M (2007).Robotic Exploration of the Solar System Part I: The Golden Age 1957–1982.Springer. p. 157.ISBN9780387493268.
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