The Soviet Exploration of Venus
The Soviet exploration of Venus, from 1961 to 1985, is the largest effort ever undertaken to study another planet. The fundamentals of interplanetary spacecraft design and remote sensing were first realized in these missions. Successes included 3 atmospheric probes, 10 landings, 4 orbiters, 11 flybys or impacts, and 2 balloon probes in the clouds. Much of what is known today about our neighboring planet was discovered by these missions.
