Pioneer Venus project

Main articles: Pioneer Venus Orbiter and Pioneer Venus Multiprobe

Cloud structure in the Venusian atmosphere in 1979, revealed by ultraviolet observations by Pioneer Venus Orbiter

The Pioneer Venus project was part of the Pioneer program consisting of two spacecraft, the Pioneer Venus Orbiter and the Pioneer Venus Multiprobe, launched to Venus in 1978. The program was managed by NASA's Ames Research Center.

The Pioneer Venus Orbiter entered orbit around Venus on December 4, 1978, and performed observations to characterize the atmosphere and surface of Venus. It continued to transmit data until October 1992.

The Pioneer Venus Multiprobe deployed four small probes into the Venusian atmosphere on December 9, 1978. All four probes transmitted data throughout their descent to the surface. One probe survived landing and transmitted data from the surface for over an hour.

See also

• 1978 in spaceflight
• Vega program
• Venera program

External links

• NASA: Pioneer Venus Project Information
• Pioneer Venus Program Page by NASA's Solar System Exploration
• NSSDC Master Catalog: Spacecraft Pioneer Venus Probe Bus. (Other components of the mission have their own pages at this site too.)
• Several articles in Science (1979), 205, pages 41-121
• Kasprzak, W. T - The Pioneer Venus Orbiter: 11 years of data. (May 1, 1990) - NASA
• Art for the mission