List of missions to Venus

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There have been 46 space missions to the planet Venus (including gravity-assist flybys). Missions to Venus constitute part of the exploration of Venus. The Soviet Union, followed by the United States, have soft landed probes on the surface. Venera 7 was the first lander overall and first for the Soviet Union, touching down on 15 December 1970. Pioneer Venus 2 contained the first spacecraft to land from the United States, the Day Probe. It soft landed on 9 December 1978.[1][2][3][4][5][6] The most recent lander was part of the Vega 2 mission, which soft landed on 15 June 1985.

Global topographic map of Venus, with all the Soviet probe landings marked (red: returned images; with additional black dot: analyzed samples).

List

As of 2020, the Soviet Union, United States, European Space Agency and Japan have conducted missions to Venus.

Mission Type Legend
  Mission to Venus
  Gravity assist, destination elsewhere
More information Spacecraft, Launch date ...
Spacecraft Launch date[7] Operator Mission Outcome Remarks Carrier rocket[8]
1 Tyazhely Sputnik
(1VA No.1)		 4 February 1961 OKB-1
 Soviet Union		 Impactor[9] Launch failure Power transformer failure, upper stage failed to ignite, never left LEO[9] Molniya
2 Venera 1
(1VA No.2)		 12 February 1961 OKB-1
 Soviet Union		 Impactor[9] Spacecraft failure Communications failure. First flyby past another planet, on 19 May 1961 at less than 100,000 kilometres (62,000 mi); no data returned Molniya
3 Mariner 1
(P-37)		 22 July 1962 NASA
 United States		 Flyby Launch failure Failed to orbit Earth; destroyed by range safety following guidance failure[10] Atlas-LV3 Agena-B
4 2MV-1 No.1 25 August 1962 OKB-1
 Soviet Union		 Lander Launch failure Premature upper stage cutoff due to ullage motor malfunction; never left LEO[10] Molniya
5 Mariner 2
(P-38)		 27 August 1962 NASA
 United States		 Flyby Successful First successful flyby past another planet on 14 December 1962 Atlas-LV3 Agena-B
6 2MV-1 No.2 1 September 1962 OKB-1
 Soviet Union		 Lander Launch failure Upper stage fuel valve failed to open, resulting in failure to ignite; never left LEO[10] Molniya
7 2MV-2 No.1 12 September 1962 OKB-1
 Soviet Union		 Flyby Launch failure Anomalous third stage cutoff resulted in air bubbles forming in fourth stage fuel; fourth stage shut down less than a second after ignition; failed to leave LEO[10] Molniya
8 3MV-1 No.2 19 February 1964 OKB-1
 Soviet Union		 Flyby Launch failure Third stage oxidizer leak caused propellant to freeze in feed lines, which subsequently cracked; failed to orbit[11] Molniya-M
9 Kosmos 27
(3MV-1 No.3)		 27 March 1964 OKB-1
 Soviet Union		 Flyby/Lander Launch failure Upper stage attitude control failure, never left LEO[11] Molniya-M
10 Zond 1
(3MV-1 No.4)		 2 April 1964 OKB-1
 Soviet Union		 Flyby/Lander Spacecraft failure Electronics shorted out, communications lost before flyby.[11] Flew past Venus on 14 July 1964. Molniya-M
11 Venera 2
(3MV-4 No.4)		 12 November 1965 OKB-1
 Soviet Union		 Flyby Spacecraft failure Flew past Venus on 27 February 1966, closest approach at 02:52 UTC. Communications lost after flyby, before any data could be returned.[12] Molniya-M
12 Venera 3
(3MV-3 No.1)		 16 November 1965 OKB-1
 Soviet Union		 Lander Spacecraft failure Communications lost as soon as spacecraft entered atmosphere on 1 March 1966, no data returned. First atmospheric entry and impact on another planet. Molniya-M
13 Kosmos 96
(3MV-4 No.6)		 23 November 1965 OKB-1
 Soviet Union		 Flyby Launch failure Third stage combustion chamber exploded, resulting in loss of control, upper stage failed to ignite; Never left LEO[12] Molniya-M
14 Venera 4
(4V-1 No.310)		 12 June 1967 Lavochkin
 Soviet Union		 Atmospheric Successful Returned atmospheric data during entry on 18 October 1967. First successful atmospheric entry. Never intended to work on surface[13] Molniya-M
15 Mariner 5 14 June 1967 NASA
 United States		 Flyby Successful Flyby on 19 October 1967, closest approach at 17:34:56 UTC[14] Atlas SLV-3 Agena-D
16 Kosmos 167
(4V-1 No.311)		 17 June 1967 Lavochkin
 Soviet Union		 Lander Launch failure Upper stage failed to ignite; turbopump cooling malfunction. Never left LEO[14] Molniya-M
17 Venera 5
(4V-1 No.330)		 5 January 1969 Lavochkin
 Soviet Union		 Atmospheric Successful Entered atmosphere on 16 May 1969, operated for 53 minutes Molniya-M
18 Venera 6
(4V-1 No.331)		 10 January 1969 Lavochkin
 Soviet Union		 Atmospheric Successful Entered atmosphere on 17 May 1969, operated for 51 minutes Molniya-M
19 Venera 7
(4V-1 No.630)		 17 August 1970 Lavochkin
 Soviet Union		 Lander Partial success Landed at 05:37:10 UTC on 15 December 1970, rolled upon landing and returned severely limited data. First soft landing on another planet. Molniya-M
20 Kosmos 359
(4V-1 No.631)		 22 August 1970 Lavochkin
 Soviet Union		 Lander Launch failure Never left LEO Molniya-M
21 Venera 8
(4V-1 No.670)		 27 March 1972 Lavochkin
 Soviet Union		 Lander Successful Landed at 09:32 UTC on 22 July 1972. First fully successful landing on another planet. Molniya-M
22 Kosmos 482
(4V-1 No.671)		 31 March 1972 Lavochkin
 Soviet Union		 Lander Launch failure Never left LEO Molniya-M
23 Mariner 10 3 November 1973 NASA
 United States		 Flyby Successful Flyby on 5 February 1974; closest approach at 17:01 UTC; observed Venus and performed gravity assist to reach Mercury Atlas SLV-3D Centaur-D1A
24 Venera 9
(4V-1 No.660)		 8 June 1975 Lavochkin
 Soviet Union		 Orbiter/Lander Successful Entered orbit on 20 October 1975; lander landed at 05:13 UTC on 22 October. First orbiter of Venus and first images from the surface of another planet. Proton-K/D
25 Venera 10
(4V-1 No.661)		 14 June 1975 Lavochkin
 Soviet Union		 Orbiter/Lander Successful Entered orbit on 23 October 1975; lander landed at 05:17 UTC on 25 October Proton-K/D
26 Venera 11
(4V-1 No.360)		 9 September 1978 Lavochkin
 Soviet Union		 Flyby/Lander Mostly successful Flyby on 25 December; Lander landed at 03:24 UTC the same day. Multiple instrument failures on lander Proton-K/D-1
27 Venera 12
(4V-1 No.361)		 14 September 1978 Lavochkin
 Soviet Union		 Flyby/Lander Mostly successful Lander landed at 03:20 UTC on 21 December 1978. Both cameras on lander failed Proton-K/D-1
28 Pioneer Venus 1
(PV Orbiter)		 20 May 1978 NASA
 United States		 Orbiter Successful Entered orbit on 4 December 1978, decayed on 22 October 1992 Atlas SLV-3D Centaur-D1AR
29 Pioneer Venus 2
(PV Multiprobe)		 8 August 1978 NASA
 United States		 Atmospheric Successful Entered the atmosphere on 9 December 1978; consisted of five spacecraft, two of which continued transmitting after reaching the surface[4][1][2][3][5][6] Atlas SLV-3D Centaur-D1AR
30 Venera 13
(4V-1M No.760)		 30 October 1981 Lavochkin
 Soviet Union		 Flyby/Lander Successful Lander landed at 03:20 UTC on 1 March 1982. First recording of sounds from another planet. Proton-K/D-1
31 Venera 14
(4V-1M No.761)		 4 November 1981 Lavochkin
 Soviet Union		 Flyby/Lander Successful Lander landed on 5 March 1982. Proton-K/D-1
32 Venera 15
(4V-2 No.860)		 2 June 1983 Lavochkin
 Soviet Union		 Orbiter Successful Entered orbit 10 October 1983, operated until July 1984 Proton-K/D-1
33 Venera 16
(4V-2 No.861)		 7 June 1983 Lavochkin
 Soviet Union		 Orbiter Successful Entered orbit 11 October 1983, operated until July 1984 Proton-K/D-1
34 Vega 1
(5VK No.901)		 15 December 1984 Lavochkin
 Soviet Union		 Flyby/Atmospheric/Lander Mostly successful Landed 11 June 1985. Atmospheric probe deployed during entry operated for two days. Main bus continued to explore comet 1P/Halley Proton-K/D-1
35 Vega 2
(5VK No.902)		 21 December 1984 Lavochkin
 Soviet Union		 Flyby/Atmospheric/Lander Successful Landed 15 June 1985. Atmospheric probe deployed during entry operated for two days. Main bus continued to explore comet 1P/Halley Proton-K/D-1
36 Magellan 4 May 1989 NASA
 United States		 Orbiter Successful Entered orbit 10 October 1990, deorbited 13 October 1994 Space Shuttle Atlantis
STS-30 / IUS
- Galileo 18 October 1989 NASA
 United States		 Gravity assist at Venus Successful Flyby on 10 February 1990 en route to Jupiter; observed Venus during closest pass. Space Shuttle Atlantis
STS-34 / IUS
- Cassini 15 October 1997 NASA
 United States		 Gravity assist Successful Flybys on 26 April 1998 and 24 June 1999 en route to Saturn; observed Venus during closest pass. Titan IV(401)B
- MESSENGER 3 August 2004 NASA
 United States		 Gravity assist Successful Flybys on 24 October 2006 and 5 June 2007 en route to Mercury; observed Venus during closest pass. Delta II 7925H
37 Venus Express 9 November 2005 ESA
 Orbiter Successful Entered orbit 11 April 2006. Full communications lost on 28 November 2014[15] Soyuz-FG/Fregat
38 Akatsuki 20 May 2010 JAXA
 Japan		 Orbiter Mostly successful Flew past Venus on 6 December 2010 after failing to enter orbit. Insertion was successfully reattempted on 7 December 2015.

Last contact April 2024

 H-IIA 202
39 IKAROS 20 May 2010 JAXA
 Japan		 Flyby Successful Experimental solar sail released from the Akatsuki spacecraft. Flew past Venus on 8 December 2010 but did not make observations. H-IIA 202
40 Shin'en 20 May 2010 UNISEC
 Japan		 Flyby Spacecraft failure Communications never established after launch. Flew past Venus in December 2010 H-IIA 202
- Parker Solar Probe 12 August 2018 NASA
 United States		 Gravity assist Operational Flybys on 10 October 2018, 26 December 2019, 11 July 2020, 20 February 2021, 16 October 2021, 21 August 2023, and 6 November 2024 to lower perihelion for solar observation. Delta IV Heavy/Star 48BV
- BepiColombo 20 October 2018 ESA
 Gravity assist Successful Flybys on 15 October 2020 and 11 August 2021 en route to Mercury; observed Venus during closest pass. Ariane 5 ECA
- Solar Orbiter 10 February 2020 ESA
 Gravity assist Operational Flybys on 27 Dec 2020, 8 Aug 2021, 3 Sep 2022, 18 Feb 2025, 24 Dec 2026, 17 Mar 2028, 10 Jun 2029, and 2 Sep 2030 to adjust orbital inclination. Atlas V 411
- Juice 31 August 2025 ESA
 Gravity assist Successful Flyby en route to Jupiter. Ariane 5 ECA+
Close

Statistics

Launches by decade

More information Decade, 1960s ...
Launches to Venus
Decade
    1960s
    18
    1970s
    11
    1980s
    7
    1990s
    0
    2000s
    1
    2010s
    3
    2020s
    0
    Close

    This is a list of 40 missions (including failed ones) to Venus. It includes Flybys (not gravity assists), Impact probes, orbiters, landers, rovers by decade.

    Mission milestone by country

    Legend

      Achieved
      Failed attempt
    † First to achieve

    More information Country, Flyby ...
    Country Flyby Orbit Atmospheric entry Impact Lander Rover
    Soviet Union Soviet Union Venera 1, 1961 † Venera 9, 1975 † Venera 3, 1966 † Venera 3, 1966 † Venera 7, 1970 † N/a
    United States United States Mariner 2, 1962 Pioneer Venus 1, 1978 Pioneer Venus 2, 1978 Pioneer Venus 2, 1978 Pioneer Venus 2, 1978 N/a
    ESA Venus Express, 2006 Venus Express, 2006 N/a N/a N/a N/a
    Japan Japan Akatsuki, 2010 Akatsuki, 2015 N/a N/a N/a N/a
    Close

    By organization

    More information Country, Agency or company ...
    Country Agency
    or company    		 Successful Partial failure Failure Operational Gravity assist Total
    Soviet Union USSR Energia - - 11 - - 11
    Lavochkin 14 1 3 - - 18
    USA NASA 6 - 1 1 4 11
    ESA ESA 1 - - 1 2 3
    Japan JAXA 1 - - - - 2
    UNISEC - - 1 - - 1
    Close

    Future missions

    Under development

    More information Name, Operator ...
    Name Operator Proposed
    launch year    		 Type Status Reference
    Venus Life Finder United StatesNew Zealand MIT/Rocket Lab NET summer 2026 Atmospheric probe under development [16]
    MBR Explorer United Arab Emirates UAESA 2028 Flyby under development [17][18]
    Venus Orbiter Mission India ISRO 29 March 2028[19] Orbiter/atmospheric probe under development [20]
    VERITAS United States NASA 2031 Orbiter under development [21][22]
    DAVINCI United States NASA 2031–2032 Atmospheric probe under development [21][23]
    EnVision ESA 2031–2032 Orbiter under development [24]
    Close

    Proposed missions

    More information Name, Operator ...
    Name Operator Proposed
    launch year    		 Type Status Reference
    Venera-D Russia Roscosmos 2036 Orbiter and lander Proposed [25]
    Venus Volcano Imaging and Climate Explorer (VOICE) China CNSA 2026 Orbiter Not selected [26][27]
    AREE United States NASA 2020 Wind-powered surface rover Concept study [28]
    CUVE United States NASA 2017 Orbiter proposed [29]
    EVE European Space Agency ESA 2005 Orbiter/Lander/Balloon Not selected [30]
    HAVOC United States NASA 2015 Crewed aircraft Concept study [31]
    HOVER United States NASA 2019 Orbiter Concept study [32]
    VAMP United States NASA 2012 Inflatable semi-buoyant aircraft Not selected [33]
    VICI United States NASA 2027 Lander Not selected [34][35]
    VISAGE United States NASA 2027 Lander Not selected [36][37][35]
    VISE United States NASA 2003 Lander Not selected [38]
    VMPM United States NASA 1994 Atmospheric probes Concept study [39]
    VOX United States NASA 2017 Orbiter Not selected [40][35]
    Zephyr United States NASA 2016 Sail-driven surface rover Feasibility study [41]
    Close

    See also

    References

    External links

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