Venera 12
Soviet Venus lander and gamma-ray burst observatory.
Venera 12 was an uncrewed Soviet space mission designed to explore the planet Venus. Launched on 14 September 1978, it consisted of a flight platform and a lander that successfully touched down on Venus on 21 December 1978, transmitting data for about 110 minutes.
- launch_date
- 14 September 1978 at 02:25:13 UTC
- landing_date
- 21 December 1978 at 06:30 Moscow time (0330 UT)
- mission_type
- Uncrewed Venus exploration
- operator
- Soviet Union
- landing_coordinates
- 7°S 294°E
- touchdown_speed
- 7–8 metres per second (23–26 ft/s)
- orbital_period
- 284 days
Lore & Background
The Venera 12 lander separated from its flight platform on 19 December 1978 and entered the Venus atmosphere two days later at 11.2 kilometres per second. It employed aerodynamic braking, parachute braking, and atmospheric braking before making a soft landing. After touchdown, the lander transmitted data to the flight platform for about 110 minutes until the platform moved out of range. The lander carried instruments to study atmospheric composition, clouds, and thermal balance, including a gas chromatograph, a device named Groza to measure electrical discharges, and two color cameras that failed due to a design flaw preventing lens cap separation.
Reader's Guide
Venera 12's flight platform contributed significantly to gamma-ray burst astronomy. Together with Venera 11, it yielded detailed time-profiles for 143 gamma-ray bursts, producing the first catalog of such events. The platform also used its ultraviolet spectrometer to study comet Bradfield (C/1979 Y1) in early 1980. The lander reported evidence of lightning and thunder, a high 36Ar/40Ar ratio, and the discovery of carbon monoxide at low altitudes on Venus. Despite the camera failure, the mission provided valuable data on Venus's atmosphere and surface conditions. Venera 12 remains in heliocentric orbit with a perihelion of 0.69 AU and aphelion of 1.01 AU.
Did You Know?
- Venera 12's lander transmitted data for about 110 minutes after touchdown.
- The lander's two color cameras failed because their lens caps did not separate.
- Venera 12 and Venera 11 carried identical instruments.
- The flight platform's last reported gamma-ray burst occurred on 5 January 1980.
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