Venera 4 - Achievements

Achievements

For the first time, in situ analysis of the atmosphere of another planet was performed and the data sent back to Earth; the analysis included chemical composition, temperature and pressure. The measured ratio of carbon dioxide to nitrogen of about 13 corrected the previous estimates so much (an inverse ratio was expected in some quarters) that some scientists contested the observations. The main station detected no radiation belts; relative to Earth, the measured magnetic field was 3000 times weaker, and the hydrogen corona was 1000 times less dense. No atomic oxygen was detected. All the data suggested that water, if present, had leaked from the planet long before. This conclusion was unexpected considering the thick Venusian clouds. Because of the negligible humidity, the sugar lock system, employed on Venera 4 in case of a water landing, was abandoned in the subsequent Venus probes.

The mission was considered a complete success, especially given several previous failures of Venera probes. Although the Venera 4 design did allow for data transmission after landing, the Venera 3-6 probes were not built to withstand the pressures at the Venusian surface. The first successful landing on Venus was achieved by Venera 7 in 1970.

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