“The Roman Goddess of love & beauty”, our Sister planet Venus is a major attraction to Astronomy and astrophysics studies right from the early ages of its discovery. It’s interesting to note that a few in their lifetimes may have failed to notice our Venus, as it shines like another diamond in the sky during dawn and dusk!!!
It seems hard to describe anything about this object without at least a point on aesthetic beauty. Scientific updates rather outwit literary review, so we shall see some scientific aspects of it.
As we know Venus is our closest neighbour, it has been and is a primary target of space explorations. Venus owns several positions including the 1st planet beyond Earth visited by a spacecraft and also the 1st to be successfully landed on.
Venera 7, a Soviet Union spacecraft (one among the Venera series) is the 1st to transmit data back to earth from Venus. On 15 December 1970 Venera landed on the surface of Venus. Now it is going to be 50 yrs since Venera landed on the Venusian surface. The spacecraft was designed in such a way that the lander was able to survive high pressure and temperature. In addition to this accelerometer (to measure atmospheric density), radar altimeter (to measure altitude) were also there. The mission duration of about 120 days of travel transmitted data to earth that helped in understanding the Venusian surface, giving out its conclusion that Venus is unfit for human survival. Though years have passed by, we still cherish the effort and hard work of our scientists for this mission.
By December 15, Venera celebrates the half-century of its successful landing. Unlike its partner Cosmos 359, Venera 7 was a triumphant project, a breakthrough to all the missions ahead till now.
-Sreebala P S
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