Astronomy:Venera 10

Short description: Space probe

Venera 10

Venera 10
Mission type	Venus orbiter / lander
Operator	Lavochkin
COSPAR ID	1975-054A 1975-054D (lander)
SATCAT no.	7947 8423
Mission duration	Travel: 4 months and 9 days Orbiter: 144 days Lander: 65 minutes Last contact: 286 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	4V-1 No. 661
Manufacturer	Lavochkin
Launch mass	5,033 kg (11,096 lb)
BOL mass	2,230 kg (4,920 lb)
Landing mass	1,560 kg (3,440 lb)
Dimensions	2.7 m × 2.3 m × 5.7 m (8.9 ft × 7.5 ft × 18.7 ft)
Start of mission
Launch date	June 14, 1975 (1975-06-14), 03:00:31 UTC
Rocket	Proton with upper and escape stages
Launch site	Baikonur 81/24
End of mission
Last contact	"[Orbiter transmitted] data until at least June 1976."
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Cytherocentric
Eccentricity	0.8798
Pericytherion altitude	1,620 kilometers (1,010 mi)
Apocytherion altitude	113,900 kilometers (70,800 mi)
Inclination	29.5°
Period	49.4 hours
Revolution no.	71
Venus orbiter
Orbital insertion	October 23, 1975
Venus lander
Spacecraft component	Venera 10 descent craft
Landing date	02:17, October 25, 1975
Landing site	[ ⚑ ] 15.42°N 291.51°E / 15.42; 291.51 (near Beta Regio)
Venera

Venera 10 (Russian: Венера-10 meaning Venus 10), or 4V-1 No. 661, was a Soviet uncrewed space mission to Venus. It consisted of an orbiter and a lander. It was launched on June 14, 1975, 03:00:31 UTC and had a mass of 5033 kg (11096 lb).

Orbiter

When the mission launched, the Soviet Union only disclosed that the mission's objective was to explore Venus and the surrounding space. Western sources speculated that the spacecraft contained a lander.

The orbiter entered Venus orbit on October 23, 1975. Its mission was to serve as a communications relay for the lander and to explore cloud layers and atmospheric parameters with several instruments and experiments:

• 1.6–2.8 μm IR Spectrometer
• 8–28 μm IR Radiometer
• 352 nm UV Photometer
• 2 Photopolarimeters (335–800 nm)
• 300–800 nm Spectrometer
• Lyman-α H/D Spectrometer
• Bistatic radar mapping
• CM, DM radio occultations
• Triaxial Magnetometer
• 345–380 nm UV Camera
• 355–445 nm Camera
• 6 Electrostatic analyzers
• 2 Modulation Ion Traps
• Low-Energy Proton / Alpha detector
• Low-Energy Electron detector
• 3 Semiconductor counters
• 2 Gas-Discharge counters
• Cherenkov detector

The orbiter consisted of a cylinder with two solar panel wings and a high gain parabolic antenna attached to the curved surface. A bell-shaped unit holding propulsion systems was attached to the bottom of the cylinder, and mounted on top was a 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in) sphere which held the landers. To reach Venus, the spacecraft traveled in a heliocentric orbit from Earth to the planet with perihelion of 0.72 AU, apohelion of 1.02 AU, eccentricity of 0.17, inclination of 2.3 degrees and orbital period of 294 days.

Lander

On October 23, 1975, the lander separated from the orbiter, and touched down with the sun near zenith, at 05:17 UT, on October 25. A system of circulating fluid was used to distribute the heat load. This system, plus precooling prior to entry, permitted operation of the spacecraft for 65 minutes after landing. During descent, heat dissipation and deceleration were accomplished sequentially by protective hemispheric shells, three parachutes, a disk-shaped drag brake, and a compressible, metal, doughnut-shaped, landing cushion.

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  Landing area of Venera 10 as mapped by the Magellan orbiter

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  Surface of Venus as photographed by the Venera 10 lander

It landed near the border area between Beta Regio and Hyndla Regio (within a 150 km radius of [ ⚑ ] 15.42°N 291.51°E / 15.42; 291.51), three days after the touchdown of, and 2200 km from Venera 9. Venera 10 measured a surface windspeed of 3.5 m/s. Other measurements included atmospheric pressure at various heights, and temperature, and surface light levels. Venera 10 was the second probe to send back black and white television pictures from the Venusian surface (after Venera 9). Venera 10 photographs showed lava rocks of pancake shape with lava or other weathered rocks in between. Planned 360 degree panoramic pictures could not be taken because, as with Venera 9, one of two camera lens covers failed to come off, limiting pictures to 180 degrees.

The lander communicated with Earth using the Venera 10 orbiter as a communication relay.

Lander payload:

• Temperature and pressure sensors
• Accelerometer
• Visible / IR photometer – IOV-75
• Backscatter and multi-angle nephelometers – MNV-75
• P-11 Mass spectrometer – MAV-75
• Panoramic telephotometers (2, with lamps)
• Anemometer – ISV-75
• Gamma-ray spectrometer – GS-12V
• Gamma ray densitometer – RP-75
• Radio Doppler experiment

See also

• List of missions to Venus
• Timeline of artificial satellites and space probes