Since 1961, a total of 30 man-made satellites have been launched with the goal of reaching the planet Venus . The satellites sent were 4 Mariner satellites , from the United States , and 18 Venera satellites [ a] , from the Soviet Union , as well as 8 other satellites. Of these, 23 total succeeded (3 Mariner, 12 Venera, and 8 others), 1 was a partial failure (Venera), and 6 failed (1 Mariner and 5 Venera), giving missions to Venus a success rate of approximately 77% percent.
Name
Launch Date
Country(s)
Date of Arrival at Venus
Date of Last Radio Signal
Did It Work as Planned?
Source(s)
Mariner 1
July 22, 1962
United States
Never happened because of launch failure
July 22, 1962
No
[ 1]
Mariner 2
August 27, 1962
United States
December 14, 1962
Janaury 3, 1963
Yes
[ 2] [ 3]
Mariner 5
June 14, 1967
United States
June 19, 1967
October 14, 1968
Yes
[ 4] [ 5]
Mariner 10
November 3, 1973
United States
February 5, 1974
March 24, 1975
Yes
[ 6] [ 7]
Name
Launch Date
Country(s)
Date of Arrival at Venus
Date of Last Radio Signal (lander/impactor)
Date of Last Radio Signal (orbiter /fly-by craft /kickstage)
Did It Work as Planned?
Source(s)
Sputnik 7 [ b]
February 4, 1961
Soviet Union
Never happened because of failure to leave Low Earth orbit
No lander[ c]
February 26, 1961
No
[ 3]
Sputnik 19
August 25, 1962
Soviet Union
Never happened because of failure to leave Low Earth orbit
No lander
August 28, 1962
No
[ 3]
Venera 1
February 12, 1961
Soviet Union
May 19, 1961
No lander
February 17, 1961
No
[ 8]
Venera 2
November 12, 1965
Soviet Union
February 27, 1966
No lander
February 1966
No
[ 9] [ 10]
Venera 3
November 16, 1965
Soviet Union
March 1, 1966
February 16, 1966
February 16, 1966
No
[ 11] [ 12]
Venera 4
June 12, 1967
Soviet Union
October 18, 1967
No lander
October 18, 1967
Yes
[ 13]
Venera 5
January 5, 1969
Soviet Union
May 16, 1969
May 16, 1969
May 16, 1969
Yes
[ 14]
Venera 6
January 10, 1969
Soviet Union
May 17, 1969
May 17, 1969
May 17, 1969
Yes
[ 15]
Venera 7
August 17, 1970
Soviet Union
December 15, 1970
December 15, 1970
December 15, 1970
Landed but rolled and returned very little data
[ 16]
Venera 8
March 27, 1972
Soviet Union
July 22, 1972
July 22, 1972
July 22, 1972
Yes
[ 17]
Venera 9
June 8, 1975
Soviet Union
October 22, 1975
October 22, 1975
March 22, 1976
Yes
[ 18]
Venera 10
June 14, 1975
Soviet Union
October 25, 1975
October 25, 1975
June 1976
[ 19] [ 3]
Venera 11
September 9, 1978
Soviet Union
December 25, 1978
December 25, 1978
February 1980
Yes, small issues with the some of the tools on the mission
[ 20] [ 21]
Venera 12
September 14, 1978
Soviet Union
December 21, 1978
December 21, 1978
December 21, 1978
Yes, small issues with the some of the tools on the mission
[ 22]
Venera 13
October 30, 1981
Soviet Union
March 1, 1982
March 1, 1982
April 25, 1983
Yes
[ 23]
Venera 14
November 4, 1981
Soviet Union
March 5, 1982
March 5, 1982
April 9, 1983
Yes
[ 24] [ 3]
Venera 15
June 2, 1983
Soviet Union
October 1983
No lander
July 1984
Yes
[ 25] [ 26]
Venera 16
June 7, 1983
Soviet Union
October 1983
No lander
July 1984
Yes
[ 25] [ 26]
Name
Launch Date
Country(s)
Date of Arrival at Venus
Date of Last Radio Signal (lander)
Date of Last Radio Signal (orbiter /fly-by craft /kickstage)
Did it Work as Planned?
Source(s)
Pioneer Venus 1
May 20, 1978
United States
December 4, 1978
No lander
October 8, 1992
Yes
[ 27]
Pioneer Venus 2
August 8, 1978
United States
December 9, 1978
December 9, 1978
December 9, 1978
Yes
[ 28]
Vega 1
December 15, 1984
Soviet Union
June 11, 1985
June 13, 1985
January 30, 1987
Yes
[ 29] [ 30] [ 3]
Vega 2
December 19, 1984
Soviet Union
June 15, 1985
June 18, 1985
March 24, 1987
Yes
[ 30] [ 31] [ 3]
Magellan
May 4, 1989
United States
August 10, 1990
No lander
October 13, 1994
Yes
[ 32]
Venus Express
November 9, 2005
European Union
April 11, 2006
No lander
November 28, 2014
Yes
[ 3]
Venus Climate Orbiter
May 20, 2010
Japan
December 6, 2010 (first), November 22, 2015 (second)
No lander
Currently Operational
Yes, failed to enter Venus orbit on first attempt but succeed in second attempt
[ 3]
IKAROS
May 20, 2010
Japan
December 8, 2010
No lander
May 21, 2015
Yes
[ 3]
↑ Venera was a name only given to Venus missions that left Low Earth orbit . Missions that failed to do so where given either Sputnik or Kosmos names instead. They are still counted as Venera satellites, as that was their intended name.
↑ Venera was a name only given to Venus missions that left Low Earth orbit . Missions that failed to do so where given either Sputnik or Kosmos names instead. They are still included in the Venera list, as that was their intended name.
↑ No lander means that no lander or impactor ever went into the Venusian atmosphere with the goal of landing or impacting. Launch failures, or satellites that failed to reach Venus , do not count.
↑ "Mariner 1 - NASA Science" . science.nasa.gov . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ https://www.jpl.nasa.gov . "Mariner 2 - Venus Missions - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory" . NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 "Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958–2016 - NASA" . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ https://www.jpl.nasa.gov . "Mariner 5 - Venus Missions - NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory" . NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ "Mariner 5 - NASA Science" . science.nasa.gov . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ "Mariner 10 | National Air and Space Museum" . airandspace.si.edu . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ Elizabeth Howell (October 31, 2012). "Mariner 10: First Mission to Mercury" . Space.com . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details" . nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/sp-4524.pdf
↑ "Venera | Soviet Exploration, Technology & Discoveries | Britannica" . www.britannica.com . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ "1 March" . www.esa.int . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details" . nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details" . nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details" . nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details" . nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details" . nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details" . nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details" . nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details" . nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details" . nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ "Drilling into the Surface of Venus" . mentallandscape.com . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details" . nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details" . nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details" . nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ 25.0 25.1 "Venera 15 & 16" . solarviews.com . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ 26.0 26.1 Robert Z. Pearlman (September 12, 2021). "Venera timeline: The Soviet Union's Venus missions in pictures" . Space.com . Retrieved May 12, 2024 .
↑ "Pioneer Venus 1 - NASA Science" . science.nasa.gov . Retrieved May 14, 2024 .
↑ "Pioneer Venus 2 - NASA Science" . science.nasa.gov . Retrieved May 15, 2024 .
↑ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details" . nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov . Retrieved May 15, 2024 .
↑ 30.0 30.1 "SBN Mission Support: Vega 1" . pds-smallbodies.astro.umd.edu . Retrieved May 15, 2024 .
↑ "Solar System Exploration: Missions: By Target: Venus: Past: Vega 2" . April 14, 2014. Archived from the original on April 14, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2024 .
↑ "Magellan - NASA Science" . science.nasa.gov . Retrieved May 15, 2024 .