Fact Sheet
Hot Rocks
Venera 9, the first spacecraft to transmit a photograph from the surface of another planet, found nothing but smooth, flat rocks when it landed on Venus 25 years ago this week (top). A sister Soviet ship, Venera 10, found a similar scene at a second landing site a few days later. Both craft succumbed to the intense heat and pressure on Venus less than an hour after they touched down.
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