... Venus Once Molten Surface . ... This computer reconstruction of the surface of Venus was created from data from the Magellan spacecraft. ... The Lunar Orbiter 1 spacecraft was launched in 1966 to map the lunar surface in preparation for the Apollo moon landings. ... Many of these glass beads were present in lunar soil samples returned to Earth by the Apollo missions. ... If trailing the Sun, Mercury will be visible for several minutes before it follows the Sun behind the Earth. ...