December 15, 2022
On this date in 1970, the Soviet probe Venera 7 landed on Venus. The spacecraft only lasted 23 minutes before being crushed by heat and pressure. Despite the short life of the probe, it is considered the first successful landing of spacecraft on another planet.
Venera 7 transmitted scientific data about the Venusian atmosphere and surface. The data it sent revealed the surface of Venus was about 887 °F. Image on the left is a reproduction of the Venera 7 lander. Image credit: Sergei Pavlovich Korolyov Museum of Cosmonautics. Image on right shows the dense atmosphere of Venus imaged in ultraviolet. Image credit: JAXA/ISAS/DARTS/Kevin M. Gill