March 1, 1966: Venera 3 first craft to land on another planet

William Atkins
Thursday, 28 February 2008 17:41

Science - Space

The Soviet Union launched Venera 3 on November 16, 1965, at 419 UTC from Tyuratam (Baikonur Cosmodrome), Kazakhstan. The Soviets hoped to land their craft on the surface of Venus.                    

Venera 3 was launched by a Tyazheliy Sputnik (65-092B) rocket.

The spacecraft was to take data of the Venusian atmosphere as it descended by parachute to the surface, and then transmit that data back to Earth, giving Soviet scientists information on pressure, temperature, and the composition of the atmosphere.

It contained a radio communication system, along with scientific instruments and electrical power sources.

The 2,112 pound (958 kilogram) spacecraft, designated as Venera 3MV-3 by its manufacturer (Lavochkin), crash-landed on the surface of Venus on March 1, 1966.

Its communications system failed before it could return to Earth any useful information.

Also called Venus 3, the spacecraft does become the first human spacecraft to make physical contact with another planetary body, besides the Moon.