Quote Of The Day
I don’t pretend to understand the Universe—it’s a great deal bigger than I am.
Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881)
1967: Mariner 5 - USA Venus Flyby (June 14 to November, 1967) completed its journey. Mariner 5 arrived at Venus on October 19, 1967, one day after Venera 4. It passed within 3,900 kilometers of the planet's surface. It studied the Venusian magnetic field and found that its atmosphere was composed of 85-99% carbon dioxide. It is now in a solar orbit.
1995: Pioneer 11 - USA Jupiter/Saturn Flyby - 259 kg - (April 6, 1973 - November 1995) left the solar system. Pioneer 11 flew by Jupiter on December 1, 1974 passing 42,900 kilometers from Jupiter's cloud tops. It took better pictures than Pioneer 10, and measured Jupiter's intense charged-particle and magnet field environment. As it flew by Jupiter it was given a gravity assist which swung it onto a course for Saturn. On September 1, 1979, Pioneer 11 flew past the outer edge of Saturn's A ring at a range of 3,500 kilometers. It traveled underneath the ring system and passed 20,930 kilometers from Saturn's cloud tops.
1975: Venera 10 - USSR Venus Orbiter and Lander (launched June 14, 1975) The lander arrived on the Venusian surface. Venera 10 arrived at Venus on October 25, 1975, three days after its sister spacecraft Venera 9. Both orbiters photographed the clouds and looked at the upper atmosphere. Differences in cloud layers were discovered at 57-70 kilometers, 52-57 kilometers, and 49-52 kilometers from the surface. The lander arrived on the Venusian surface on November 25, 1975. During a period of 65 minutes, it transmitted black and white images of the planets surface. The terrain was more eroded than at the Venera 9 landing site.