Completed · Success
Venera 7 was a Soviet Venus mission whose titanium descent craft entered the nightside atmosphere of Venus on 15 December 1970. Its parachute ripped during descent and the probe struck the surface hard at about 16.5 m/s, but it survived and kept transmitting a weak signal for roughly a further 23 minutes - a return recognised only in later analysis of recorded radio signals - making it the first spacecraft to return data from the surface of another planet. A commutator failure meant only temperature, not pressure, was transmitted.
- Destinations
- Launch vehicle
- Modified SS-6 (Sapwood) with 2nd Generation Upper Stage + Escape Stage
- Launch site
- Tyuratam (Baikonur Cosmodrome), U.S.S.R
- Countries
- Soviet Union
- Mission types
- Lander, Atmospheric probe
Chronology
Mission timeline
Launch
Launch from Tyuratam into Earth parking orbit, then escape toward Venus
NSSDCA: launched "into an Earth parking orbit and then from a Tyazheliy Sputnik towards Venus". The identical companion spacecraft launched five days later failed to leave Earth orbit and was designated Cosmos 359.
EarthMilestone
First transmission from the surface of another planet
NASA lists Venera 7 for both "First transmission from the surface of another planet" and "First soft-landing and return of surface data from Venus", dated 15 December 1970. The achievement is routinely overstated: per NSSDCA the post-impact return was a weak signal detected only in later analysis of recorded radio signals, the probe is believed to have bounced and come to rest on its side with the antenna mispointed, and a commutator failure meant only temperature was transmitted. The surface temperature read 474 C for 50 seconds and then a steady 457 C; a surface pressure of 92 bar was extrapolated, not measured.
VenusMission end
Mission ends; NSSDCA decay date 1970-12-15
NSSDCA's launch/orbital record lists the decay date as 1970-12-15, the day the descent craft reached the surface and its signal ceased.
VenusMilestone
Descent craft separates from the bus and enters the nightside atmosphere
The lander probe was allowed to cool to -8 degrees C before entry. NSSDCA notes that all quoted times are "spacecraft time = Earth received time minus 3 minutes 22 seconds light travel time".
VenusDeployment
Top hatch blown, parachute deployed, transmissions commence
The hatch was designed to be released at 700 mb, planned for about 60 km altitude; NSSDCA notes 700 mb is now known to correspond to about 52.5 km. A commutator failure meant no direct pressure measurements were returned, only temperature.
VenusMilestone
Parachute rips and collapses; probe falls free for a further 18 minutes
Velocity increased from 15 to 26 m/s; the probe free-fell toward the surface for a further 18 minutes 24 seconds (05:15:46 to 05:34:10 UT), slowed by the thickening atmosphere. NSSDCA's wording of "another 29 minutes" is contradicted by the impact time on the same page.
VenusLanding
Hard landing on Venus at about 16.5 m/s at 5 degrees S, 351 degrees E
Landing point 5 degrees S, 351 degrees E. On impact "the signals weakened, reached full strength for about one second, and then seemingly ceased". The descent-craft record gives the impact speed as about 16.5 m/s; the spacecraft-level record gives about 17 m/s. NSSDCA describes it as "a much harder than intended landing".
VenusLoss of contact
Weak post-landing signal ends after about 23 minutes
NSSDCA: "Later analysis of the recorded radio signals revealed that the probe had survived the impact and continued transmitting a weak signal for another 23 minutes, until 5:57:08 UT." The spacecraft-level record states the 23-minute duration without giving an end time.
VenusMilestone
First mid-course correction, on 2 October
Both cited pages state "Two mid-course corrections were made, on 2 October and 17 November." Carried without a timestamp because that sentence prints no year: 1970 appears only in the preceding sentence, which both excerpts now carry beside it, and this catalog does not read a year out of a neighbouring sentence. This event held 1970-10-02 at day precision until the venus segment 3 audit of 2026-09-03 found it, and the record's own description said in terms that the year was not written on the page.
Milestone
Second mid-course correction, on 17 November
Both cited pages state "Two mid-course corrections were made, on 2 October and 17 November." Carried without a timestamp for the same reason as the first correction: the sentence prints no year. This event held 1970-11-17 at day precision until the venus segment 3 audit of 2026-09-03 found it.
Mission architecture
Vehicles
Trajectory record
Trajectory dataset not yet available
No verified trajectory dataset is committed for this mission, so Mission Atlas renders no path.
Provenance
Sources
Each source is listed once and labeled with the mission, event, trajectory, or destination/body context it supports.
Data verified through September 3, 2026
- Venera 7 - NASA NSSDCA Spacecraft Details (1970-060A) — NSSDCAArchive · Supports: mission claims · event claims
- Venera 7 Descent Craft - NASA NSSDCA Spacecraft Details (1970-060D) — NSSDCAArchive · Supports: mission claims · event claims
- Venera 7 - NSSDCA Launch/Orbital Information (1970-060A) — NSSDCAArchive · Supports: mission claims · event claims
- Deep Space Robotic Firsts - NASA Science — NASAOther · Supports: mission claims · event claims
- Venus Exploration - NASA Science (All Missions to Venus) — NASAOther · Supports: mission claims
- Planet Sizes and Locations in Our Solar System — NASAOther · Supports: destination/body context