Venera-9 on the surface

The Venera-9 lander hit the surface of the planet with the
speed of around seven meters per second at 08:13 Moscow
Time (0513 UT) on October 22, 1975. It was the daylight local
time on the side of the planet not visible from Earth. (71) The
impact was cushioned by compressed gas released from the
inflatable doughnut-shaped amortization device. (183)
The landing site was determined to be 32 degrees north
latitude and 291 degrees longitude in Beta Regio. According to
later estimates, the area was some 1.5 - 2 kilometers above the
average surface level. (123)
Immediately upon landing, covers protecting windows of
camera compartments were suppose to jettison, providing a
pair of black and white cameras with the 360-degree view of
surrounding landscape. However only one cover actually
separated, narrowing the view angle to 180 degrees. At the
same time, a boom with soil density sensor had been
successfully deployed.
During next 53 minutes, the lander streamed data to the
orbiter, which in turn relayed it back to Earth. The transmission
of priceless imagery started some two minutes after the landing
and continued until the end of communications.
Many popular accounts of the Venera-75 mission attributed the
end of communications with the lander to the harsh conditions
on the surface, however a respected Soviet source said the loss
of signal was due to the orbiter going out of range of
communications with the lander. (80)
The Venera-9 had enough time to scan 174 degrees of the
panoramic view from left to right, and then 124 degrees
scanning right to left. It took around half an hour to transmit all
the data. Pioneering images revealed a rocky slope littered
mostly with flat rocks up to 10 meters in size and surprisingly
small amount of sand.
The size of most rocks was estimated to be around 50-70
centimeters and the height 15-20 centimeters. Most rocks
featured sharp edges, hinting either their geologically young
age, or very slow process of erosion. (188)
The lander ended up under a 30-degree angle and its cameras
could only see as far as few dozen meters. Soviet scientists
suggested that the material at the site represented remnants of
rocks fractured as a result of the internal shifts and faults in the
planet's crust. The tectonic process possibly caused a mass of
debris to slide along the slope.
Another surprise was a relatively good visibility - landscape
features could be discerned as far as 100 meters from the
lander -- despite enormous density of the surrounding haze.
One Soviet scientist apparently went far enough to compare
lighting conditions on Venus with a "cloudy day in Moscow."
Along with image information, data from other instruments on
the spacecraft was beaming back to Earth simultaneously. The
"weather" data from the lander indicated that surrounding
temperature was reaching 485 degrees C and pressure of 90
atmospheres. Under such harsh pressure, winds on the surface
were rather slow and the behavior of the dust cloud raised by
the landing of the spacecraft looked more like a smoke screen
billowing around the submarine hitting bottom of the ocean on
Earth.
(Another source quoted surface temperature of 457 degrees C.)
Amount of solar radiation on the surface was measured at
about 100 Watt per square meter. (123)
As the Venera-9 lander fell silent, the science equipment
onboard the orbiter continued gathering information about
temperature conditions at different altitudes and about
composition of the planet's upper atmosphere and its cloud
layers, as well as the data about interaction between the solar
wind and the planet.
1975 October 23: The Venera-10 lander separated from the
orbiter, while the latter conducted a maneuver to flyby Venus
from the opposite side of the planet.
Venera-10 landing
1975 October 25: The Venera-10 entered 113,900 by 1,620-
kilometer orbit around Venus, with the inclination of 29.30
degrees and the rotation period of 49 hours 8 minutes. (2)
In the meantime, the Venera-10 lander entered the
atmosphere at 0102 UT, under angle of 22.5 degrees relative to
the local horizon. Repeating the Venera-9's descent sequence,
it touched down on the searing surface of the planet at 0217
UT.
The landing site was located some 2,200 kilometers from that
of Venera-9's, at the point 16 degrees north latitude and 291
degrees longitude.
One more time, one of the covers on the camera compartment
refused to open, once again restricting field of view at the
landing site to 180 degrees. Yet, the transmission of the black
and white imagery and other scientific data had continued
successfully for 65 minutes after the landing. (71) This time, the
camera could see much farther than the one on the Venera-9
lander.
Images from the Venera-10 landing site showed bleak and
almost perfectly flat desert with no apparent elevation
changes. The spacecraft was sitting on a huge flat boulder with
the diameter of about three meters and covered with dark
spots, which were probably shallow holes filled with soil. The
boulder itself, as well as similar ones visible in the distance,
were themselves buried into the dark-colored soil.
The density sensor on the Venera-10 probed the surface of the
rock on which the lander was sitting. The density was
determined to be 2.7 - 2.9 grams per cubic centimeter, which
was comparable to bazalt-type rocks on Earth. (123)
1975 October 22: After 126 days in transit, the Venera-9 orbiter
encountered Venus. Immediately after its closest rendezvous
with the planet, the main propulsion unit onboard the orbiter
fired injecting the spacecraft into a 1,510 by 112,200-kilometer
orbit around Venus, with the inclination 34.10 degrees and the
rotation period of 48 hours 18 minutes. It was the first artificial
satellite of Venus. (2) The selected orbit around Venus was
designed to provide at least 115 minutes of communications
between the lander and the orbiter, during the latter's descent
and landing. (80)
In the meantime, the Venera-9 lander plunged into the
atmosphere of Venus at the altitude of 125 kilometers with the
angle of 20.5 degrees relative to the local horizon and with the
speed of 10.7 kilometers per second. After initial aerodynamic
braking, covers of the parachute compartments were jettisoned
at the altitude of 65 kilometers, the speed of 250 meters per
second and acceleration of 2G. It was followed by the
deployment of a small "pullout" parachute and jettisoning of
the top hemisphere of the protective reentry shell of the
lander. The descent velocity then decreased to around 150
meters per second.
Next opened braking parachutes, radio transmitters were
activated and started relaying the data. After working for 15
seconds, braking parachutes further reduced the descent speed
of the lander to 50 meters per second. At the altitude of 62
kilometers above the surface, three main parachutes with the
total area of 180 square meters had deployed. Four seconds
later, the lower half of the protective sphere separated from
the lander and fell off under its own weight, while the lander
continued slow descent through the layers of clouds under
main parachutes for some 20 minutes, providing wealth of
atmospheric data.
Science instruments measured wind speed, temperatures,
pressure, lighting conditions and searched for the presence of
water vapors. The relative mass of the water vapors in the
atmosphere at the altitude of 40 kilometers was determined to
be around 10 --3.
Main parachutes were jettisoned at the altitude of 50
kilometers above the surface and the lander was then in a free
fall, slowing down only with the help of a disk-shaped
aerodynamic break. The descent velocity increased
immediately after the release of parachutes, however started
decreasing again, as the atmosphere around the lander was
becoming more and more dense. As the lander was
approaching the surface, its instruments confirmed earlier data
that the wind speed at the altitudes of up to 10 kilometers is
very low -- a stark contrast to the higher altitudes (20-40
kilometers), where winds gust up to 30-36 meters per second.
(123)
Venera 9 - . Payload: 4V-1 s/n 660. Mass: 4,936 kg (10,882 lb).
Nation: USSR. Agency: MOM. Program: Venera. Class:
Planetary. Type: Venus probe. Spacecraft: Venera 4V-1. USAF
Sat Cat: 7915 . COSPAR: 1975-050A. Apogee: 112,200 km
(69,700 mi). Perigee: 1,510 km (930 mi). Inclination: 34.1500
deg. Period: 2,898.00 min. Combined Venus orbiter/lander
mission. After separation of the lander, the orbiter spacecraft
entered Venus orbit and acted as a communications relay for
the lander and explored cloud layers and atmospheric
parameters. On October 20, 1975, the Descent Craft was
separated from the Orbiter, and landing was made with the sun
near zenith at 05:13 GMT on October 22. The Descent Craft
included a system of circulating fluid to distribute the heat load.
This system, plus precooling prior to entry, permitted operation
of the spacecraft for 53 min after landing. The landing was
about 2,200 km from the Venera 10 landing site. Preliminary
results indicated: (A) clouds 30-40 km thick with bases at 30-35
km altitude, (B) atmospheric constituents including HCl, HF, Br,
and I, (C) surface pressure about 90 (earth) atmospheres, (D)
surface temperature 485 deg C, (E) light levels comparable to
those at earth midlatitudes on a cloudy summer day, and (F)
successful TV photography showing shadows, no apparent dust
in the air, and a variety of 30-40 cm rocks which were not
eroded. Venera 9 and 10 were the first probes to send back
black and white pictures from the Venusian surface. They were
supposed to make 360 degree panoramic shots, but on both
landers one of two camera covers failed to come off, restricting
their field of view to 180 degrees. Parameters are for Venus
orbit.