Venera 6 (''russian: link=no, Венера-6'' meaning ''Venus 6''), or 2V (V-69) No.331, was a Soviet

spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, p ...

, launched towards

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

to obtain atmospheric data. It had an on-orbit dry mass of . The spacecraft was very similar to

Venera 4 Venera 4 (russian: Венера-4, lit=Venus-4), also designated 4V-1 No.310, was a probe in the Soviet Venera program for the exploration of Venus. The probe comprised a lander, designed to enter the Venusian atmosphere and parachute to the ...

although it was of a stronger design. When the atmosphere of Venus was approached, a capsule with a mass of was jettisoned from the main spacecraft. This capsule contained scientific instruments. During descent towards the surface of Venus, a parachute opened to slow the rate of descent. For 51 minutes on May 17, 1969, while the capsule was suspended from the parachute, data from the Venusian atmosphere were returned. It landed at . The spacecraft also carried a medallion bearing the State Coat of Arms of the Soviet Union and a bas-relief of

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

to the night side of Venus. Given the results from Venera 4, the

Venera 5 Venera 5 (russian: Венера-5 meaning ''Venus 5'') was a space probe in the Soviet space program ''Venera'' for the exploration of Venus. Venera 5 was launched towards Venus to obtain atmospheric data. The spacecraft was very similar to V ...

and Venera 6 landers contained new chemical analysis experiments tuned to provide more precise measurements of the atmosphere's components. Knowing the atmosphere was extremely dense, the parachutes were also made smaller so the capsule would reach its full crush depth before running out of power (as Venera-4 had done).

Instruments

Spaceship

* Instrument COP-18-3M for the study of cosmic particle streams; * LA-2U device for determining the distribution of oxygen and hydrogen in the planet's atmosphere.

Lander

* Pressure sensors MDDA-A type to measure atmospheric pressure in the range from 100 to 30,000 mm Hg Art. (0,13–40 atm); * G-8 gas analyzers to determine the chemical composition of the

atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...

; * VIP device for determining the density of the atmosphere at an altitude; * FD-69 for illumination measurements in the atmosphere; * EC-164D to determine the temperature at the height of the atmosphere.

Mission

Venera 6 was launched into an

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

parking orbit on January 10, 1969, at 05:51:52 UT and then from a Tyazheliy Sputnik (69-002C) towards Venus. After a mid-course maneuver on March 16 the Venera 6 probe was released on May 17, 1969, from the planet. It entered the nightside atmosphere at 06:05 UT and deployed the parachute. The probe sent back readouts every 45 seconds for 51 minutes and ceased operation due to the temperature and pressure effects at roughly 10 to 12 km altitude. The photometer failed to operate, but the atmosphere was sampled at 2 bar and 10 bar pressures.

External links

Venera 6
at

Lavochkin NPO Lavochkin (russian: НПО Лавочкина, OKB-301, also called Lavochkin Research and Production Association or shortly Lavochkin Association, LA) is a Russian aerospace company. It is a major player in the Russian space program, being th ...

website

References