Venera 4: first direct measurement of another planet's atmosphere
Venera 4: primera medición directa de la atmósfera de otro planeta
- Date
- 18 de octubre de 1967 · confidence high
- Place
- Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
- Credited to
- Lavochkin (Georgy Babakin)
- Field
- Movement
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What was discovered
Its descent capsule transmitted for about 93 minutes while parachuting through the Venusian atmosphere. It found it almost entirely carbon dioxide, with temperatures and pressures much higher than expected.
The Soviets at first believed the capsule reached the surface; Mariner 5 data (a day later) showed that the sensor stopped working at about 25 km altitude.
What it led to
- stronger later probes able to withstand 90-bar pressures
- the Venera 7 and later landings
- models of Venus's runaway greenhouse effect