Venera 15: mission and targets
Data as of 2026-10-04
Dates declared by the archive
- Project start
- June 2, 1983
- Declared end
- January 5, 1985
The start the archive declares is the start of the project, not the launch, and an end it does not declare does not mean the mission is still running.
In Galaxy
Targets you can open in 3D:
A declared target is what the archive files the mission’s data under, not a record of observation.
Description published by the archive
The Soviet Venera 15 and Venera 16 missions consisted of two identical spacecraft that used 8 cm band side-looking radar to map the surface of Venus. The spacecraft entered nearly polar orbits a day apart with orbital planes shifted 4.45 deg, enabling reimaging capabilities. Both had periapsis at 62 deg N latitude and together mapped from the north pole to 30 deg N latitude with 1-2 km resolution over 8 months of operations.
Quoted in English, as the archive publishes it, read on October 4, 2026.
Other targets declared
- SOLAR WIND (plasma stream)
Source
Identifier in the archive, which is its citation: urn:nasa:pds:context:investigation:mission.venera_15
NASA Planetary Data System, PDS Registry, investigation context products. Dates and targets read on September 29, 2026; how to cite the archive: https://pds.nasa.gov/datastandards/citing/