Credit & Copyright:   
Soviet Planetary Exploration Program
  
  
   
Explanation:
This image is part of the first color panoramic view from  
Venus.  
It was transmitted by a TV camera on the  
Soviet Venera 13 lander  
which parachuted to the  
 surface  
on March 1, 1982.  Venus' clouds  
are composed of sulfuric acid droplets  
while its surface temperature is about 900 degrees Fahrenheit  
(482 degrees C) at an atmospheric  
pressure of 92 times that of sea-level on Earth.  
Despite these harsh conditions, the  
Venera 13 lander survived  
long enough to send back a series of images  
and perform an analysis of the Venusian soil.  Part of the lander itself  
is visible in the lower right portion of the image.  
An earlier Soviet Venus lander,  
Venera 7 (1970), was the first spacecraft to return data  
from the surface of another planet.  
  
 Authors & editors: 
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official:  Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
  