Pioneer Venus-1 is a NASA spacecraft launched on May 20, 1978 with the goal of studying Venus . He worked until August 1992 and carried out, in particular, radar mapping of the planet. The official name of the device is Pioneer Venus Orbiter , in NASA documents it also appeared as Pioneer Venus 1 and Pioneer 12 .
| Pioneer Venus-1 | |
|---|---|
| Pioneer venus orbiter | |
 Venus orbiter | |
| Customer |  NASA |
| Operator | |
| Tasks | study of Venus |
| Satellite | Venus |
| Launch pad | Cape Canaveral |
| Launch vehicle | Atlas SLV-3D / Centaur AC-50 |
| Launch | May 20, 1978 1:13:00 p.m. UTC |
| Descent from orbit | August 1992 |
| NSSDC ID | 1978-051A |
| SCN | 10911 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 517 kg |
| Dimensions | diameter 2.5 m, height 1.2 m |
| Diameter | |
| Power | 312 watts |
| Elements of the orbit | |
| Semimajor axis | |
| Eccentricity | 0.842 |
| Mood | 105 ° |
| Circulation period | 24 hours |
| Apocenter | 72,700 km |
| Pericenter | 6,230 km |
| Project site | |
Machine Description
"Pioneer-Venus-1" was a cylinder with a diameter of 2.5 m and a height of 1.2 m, on which the devices were mounted, as well as an antenna with a diameter of 1.09 m. The solar panels were located around the circumference of the cylinder and provided power supply of over 300 Tue In addition, a magnetometer was taken out on a 4.7 m long rod. The mass of the apparatus is 517 kg, including 45 kg of scientific instruments. The device had a main engine, as well as seven small orientation engines, also used to correct the orbit. Stabilization was carried out by rotation.
"Pioneer-Venus-1" could carry out 17 scientific experiments:
- mapping the surface of the planet using radar;
- measuring the vertical distribution of clouds using a photopolarimeter ;
- measurements using an infrared radiometer and an ultraviolet spectrometer (in particular, images of cloud cover);
- determination of the composition of the upper atmosphere using a neutral particle mass spectrometer ;
- experiments to measure various parameters of the solar wind ;
- measuring the planet’s magnetic field with a magnetometer ;
- experiments to measure various characteristics of the ionosphere (using an ion mass spectrometer and an electric field sensor);
- two experiments on measuring the gravitational field of Venus using a radio signal;
- measurement of atmospheric characteristics when a radio signal passes through it;
- registration of gamma-ray bursts ;
- an experiment to study the upper atmosphere, which the device “touched” at the bottom point of the orbit.
Learning Venus
The device entered a 24-hour elliptical orbit around Venus on December 4, 1978 . For a year and a half, the lower point of the orbit was held at an altitude of 142–253 km, the upper one - 66900 km. In the future, the parameters of the orbit repeatedly changed.
"Pioneer-Venus-1" confirmed (within the sensitivity of its instruments) that Venus does not have a magnetic field. According to the apparatus, a model of the planet’s ionosphere was built, its composition and the nature of its interaction with the solar wind were determined.
The device provided new data on the dynamics of the cloud cover of the planet. In addition, frequent lightning discharges concentrated in limited areas were discovered.
Radar mapping of the surface showed various types of terrain. Some areas received new names, for example, Aphrodite Terra ( Land of Aphrodite ), Mount Maxwell (the last snow was first discovered in the pictures of the latter).
See also
- Pioneer (program)
- Magellan (spacecraft)
- Pioneer Venus-2
- List of spacecraft with x-ray and gamma detectors on board