Editing Venus (section)

===Space age===
{{Further|List of missions to Venus}}
[[File:11214 2023 956 Fig3 HTML.webp|thumb|upright=2|Venus imaged in different wavelengths by spacecraft]]

The first [[interplanetary spaceflight]] attempt was in 1961 when the [[Uncrewed spacecraft|robotic space probe]] ''[[Venera 1]]'' of the Soviet [[Venera]] programme flew to Venus. It lost contact en route.<ref name="mitchell_1"/>

The first successful interplanetary mission, also to Venus, was ''[[Mariner 2]]'' of the United States' [[Mariner program]]me, passing on 14 December 1962 at {{convert|34833|km|mi|abbr=on}} above the surface of Venus and gathering data on the planet's atmosphere.<ref name=Mayer_et_al_1958/><ref name=NASA_1962/>

Additionally [[Radar astronomy|radar observations]] of Venus were first carried out in the 1960s, and provided the first measurements of the rotation period, which were close to the actual value.<ref name=Goldstein_Carpenter_1963/>

''[[Venera 3]]'', launched in 1966, became humanity's first probe and lander to reach and impact another celestial body other than the Moon, but could not return data as it crashed into the surface of Venus. In 1967, ''[[Venera 4]]'' was launched and successfully deployed science experiments in the Venusian atmosphere before impacting. ''Venera 4'' showed the surface temperature was hotter than ''Mariner 2'' had calculated, at almost {{cvt|500|C|||}}, determined that the atmosphere was 95% carbon dioxide ({{chem|C|O|2}}), and discovered that Venus's atmosphere was considerably denser than ''Venera 4''{{'s}} designers had anticipated.<ref name="mitchell_2"/><ref name=Harvey115>{{cite book |last=Harvey |first=Brian |date=2007 |title=Russian Planetary Exploration History, Development, Legacy and Prospects  |publisher=Springer-Praxis |pages=115–118 |isbn=9780387463438 }}</ref>

In an early example of space cooperation the data of ''Venera 4'' was joined with the 1967 ''[[Mariner 5]]'' data, analysed by a combined Soviet–American science team in a series of colloquia over the following year.<ref name=COSPAR_Group_VII_1969/>

On 15 December 1970, ''[[Venera 7]]'' became the first spacecraft to [[Landings on other planets|soft land on another planet]] and the first to transmit data from there back to Earth.<ref name=Time_1971/>

In 1974, ''[[Mariner 10]]'' swung by Venus to bend its path towards Mercury and took ultraviolet photographs of the clouds, revealing the extraordinarily high wind speeds in the Venusian atmosphere. This was the first interplanetary [[gravity assist]] ever used, a technique which would be used by later probes.

Radar observations in the 1970s revealed details of the Venusian surface for the first time. Pulses of radio waves were beamed at the planet using the {{convert|300|m|ft|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} radio telescope at [[Arecibo Observatory]], and the echoes revealed two highly reflective regions, designated the [[Alpha Regio|Alpha]] and [[Beta Regio|Beta]] regions. The observations revealed a bright region attributed to mountains, which was called [[Maxwell Montes]].<ref name=Campbell_et_al_1976/> These three features are now the only ones on Venus that do not have female names.<ref name="jpl-magellan"/>

[[File:Foto de Venera 9.png|thumb|First view and first clear 180-degree panorama of Venus's surface as well as any other planet than Earth (1975, Soviet ''[[Venera&nbsp;9]]'' lander). Black-and-white image of barren, black, slate-like rocks against a flat sky. The ground and the probe are the focus.|upright=2]]

In 1975, the Soviet ''[[Venera 9]]'' and ''[[Venera 10|10]]'' landers transmitted the first images from the surface of Venus, which were in black and white. NASA obtained additional data with the [[Pioneer Venus project]], consisting of two separate missions:<ref name=Colin_Hall_1977/> the [[Pioneer Venus Multiprobe]] and [[Pioneer Venus Orbiter]], orbiting Venus between 1978 and 1992.<ref name=Williams_2005/> In 1982 the first colour images of the surface were obtained with the Soviet ''[[Venera&nbsp;13]]'' and ''[[Venera 14|14]]'' landers. After ''[[Venera 15]]'' and ''[[Venera 16|16]]'' operated between 1983 and 1984 in orbit, conducting detailed mapping of 25% of Venus's terrain (from the north pole to 30°N latitude), the Soviet Venera programme came to a close.<ref name=Greeley_Batson_2007/>

[[File:Russian "Vega" balloon mission to Venus on display at the Udvar-Hazy museum.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|[[Vega programme|Vega balloon probe]] on display at the [[Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center|Udvar-Hazy Center]] of the [[Smithsonian Institution]]]]

In 1985 the Soviet [[Vega programme]] with its ''[[Vega 1]]'' and ''[[Vega 2]]'' missions carried the last entry probes and carried the first ever extraterrestrial [[aerobot]]s for the first time achieving atmospheric flight outside Earth by employing inflatable balloons.

Between 1990 and 1994, ''[[Magellan (spacecraft)|Magellan]]'' operated in orbit until deorbiting, mapping the surface of Venus. Furthermore, probes like ''[[Galileo (spacecraft)|Galileo]]'' (1990),<ref name="PDS Atmospheres Node 1989">{{cite web | title=Welcome to the Galileo Orbiter Archive Page | website=PDS Atmospheres Node | date=18 October 1989 | url=https://pds-atmospheres.nmsu.edu/data_and_services/atmospheres_data/Galileo/galileo_orbiter.html | access-date=11 April 2023 | archive-date=11 April 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230411212904/https://pds-atmospheres.nmsu.edu/data_and_services/atmospheres_data/Galileo/galileo_orbiter.html | url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Cassini–Huygens]]'' (1998/1999), and ''[[MESSENGER]]'' (2006/2007) visited Venus with flybys en route to other destinations.
In April 2006, ''[[Venus Express]]'', the first dedicated Venus mission by the [[European Space Agency]] (ESA), entered orbit around Venus. ''Venus Express'' provided unprecedented observation of Venus's atmosphere. ESA concluded the ''Venus Express'' mission in December 2014 deorbiting it in January 2015.<ref name=Howell_2014/>

In 2010, the first successful interplanetary [[solar sail]] spacecraft [[IKAROS]] travelled to Venus for a flyby.

Between 2015 and 2024 Japan's ''[[Akatsuki (spacecraft)|Akatsuki]]'' probe was active in orbit around Venus and [[BepiColombo]] performed flybys in 2020/2021.

[[File:Wispr 4thflyby.gif|thumb|[[WISPR]] of the [[Parker Solar Probe]] took this visible light footage of the nightside in 2021, showing the hot faintly glowing surface, and its [[Aphrodite Terra]] as large dark patch, through the clouds, which prohibit such observations on the dayside when they are illuminated.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hatfield |first1=Miles |title=Parker Solar Probe Captures Visible Light Images of Venus' Surface |url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/sun/parker-solar-probe-captures-its-first-images-of-venus-surface-in-visible-light-confirmed |website=NASA |access-date=29 April 2022 |date=9 February 2022 |archive-date=14 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414155959/https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/sun/parker-solar-probe-captures-its-first-images-of-venus-surface-in-visible-light-confirmed/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Geophysical Research Letters 2022">{{cite journal | journal=Geophysical Research Letters | last1=Wood | first1=B. E. | last2=Hess | first2=P. | last3=Lustig-Yaeger | first3=J. | last4=Gallagher | first4=B. | last5=Korwan | first5=D. | last6=Rich | first6=N. | last7=Stenborg | first7=G. | last8=Thernisien | first8=A. | last9=Qadri | first9=S. N. | last10=Santiago | first10=F. | last11=Peralta | first11=J. | last12=Arney | first12=G. N. | last13=Izenberg | first13=N. R. | last14=Vourlidas | first14=A. | last15=Linton | first15=M. G. | last16=Howard | first16=R. A. | last17= Raouafi | first17=N. E. | doi=10.1029/2021GL096302 | date=9 February 2022 | title=Parker Solar Probe Imaging of the Night Side of Venus | volume=49 | issue=3| pages=e2021GL096302 | pmid=35864851 | pmc=9286398 | bibcode=2022GeoRL..4996302W }}</ref>]]