Inhospitable environment
Inhospitable environment
In the direction of the Sun, Venus is the closest planet to Earth. It orbits on average 40 million kilometres closer to the Sun. The closer proximity is only one reason why Venus's surface is hotter than Earth's. A much greater influence on the temperature is an extreme greenhouse effect that heats the planet to a consistent 470 degrees Celsius at its surface. The high temperatures and the high atmospheric pressure of 90 bar make landing on Venus with spacecraft extremely difficult. The Soviet Union succeeded in landing on Venus eight times between 1970 and 1983 with landers from its Venera programme. Many of these landers transmitted data and images for up to two hours. These images show the landscape at the landing sites of Venera 9 and Venera 13, in a field of volcanic basalt rocks.
