Pioneer Venus 1

NASA

Venus Blows Off Some Steam

Tall plumes of white vapor rise from the rocky Venusian surface in this April 19, 1977, artist’s concept. A little over a year later, NASA’s Pioneer Venus 1 would launch as the first of a two-spacecraft orbiter-probe combination designed to study the atmosphere of Venus. The first American spacecraft to orbit Venus, Pioneer Venus 1 used radar to map the surface of…