Topic summary

Venera-17

Venera-17

Venera-17 or Venera-D (Russian: Венера-Д, pronounced) is a proposed Russian space mission to Venus that would include an orbiter and a lander to be launched in 2036. The orbiter's prime objective is to perform observations with the use of a radar. The lander, based on the Venera design, would be capable of operating for a long duration (≈3 h) on the planet's surface. The "D" in Venera-D stands for "долгоживущая" ("dolgozhivuschaya"), which means "long lasting" in Russian.

Venera-D will be the first Venus probe launched by the Russian Federation (the earlier Venera probes were launched by the former Soviet Union). Venera-D will serve as the flagship for a new generation of Russian-built Venus probes, culminating with a lander capable of withstanding the harsh Venusian environment for more than the 11⁄2 hours logged by the Soviet probes. The atmosphere of Venus experiences average temperatures of 462 °C (864 °F), crushing 90 bar (89 atm; 1,300 psi) pressures, and corroding clouds of carbon dioxide laced with sulfuric acid. Venera-D will be launched on an Angara A5 rocket.