Venera 1 was a Soviet probe launched toward Venus, the first spacecraft sent to another planet. It was launched from a platform in Earth orbit by a Molniya rocket. Radio contact was lost about two weeks later when the probe was around two million kilometers from Earth, probably because of the failure of a sensor, and it passed Venus in May at a distance of about a hundred thousand kilometers without returning data. The mission nevertheless gained experience in deep-space navigation. The later Venera program was far more successful: Venera 4 sent data from the atmosphere in 1967, Venera 7 made the first soft landing on another planet in 1970, and Venera 9 sent the first pictures from the surface of Venus in 1975.
Before and after
- 17 January 1961Death of Patrice Lumumba
- from 4 February 1961 to 25 April 1974Angolan War of Independence
- from 4 February 1961 to 25 April 1974Portuguese Colonial War
- from 11 February 1961 to 1 January 1963Rise of Secret Army Organization
- 12 February 1961Launch of Venera 1
- 14 February 1961Discovery of lawrencium
- 24 February 1961Birth of Erna Solberg
- 7 March 1961Birth of Sanae Takaichi
- 23 March 1961Construction of National Library of Australia
More in Universe & space
- 1 May 1949Discovery of Nereid
- 20 August 1977Launch of Voyager 2
- 5 March 1979Discovery of Thebe
- 16 June 1989Discovery of Proteus
- 23 July 1995Discovery of Comet Hale-Bopp
- 15 May 2005Discovery of Nix
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.