Lander

A new element of the Venera project was the lander, designed specifically for penetrating Venusian atmosphere and surviving on its surface. A sphere, containing the lander was designed to protect the spacecraft from the enormous heat, reaching 10,000 0 C, during the initial entry into the atmosphere of Venus. Shortly, before separation of the lander, the thermal control system of the main bus would cool the lander to minus 8-10 0 C.

The lander itself supported internal and external layers of isolation and its body was designed to withstand tremendous amount of pressure. The vehicle was topped aerodynamic brake and the parachute compartment. The lander consisted of communication gears, electrical battery, flight control avionics, thermal control system and an array of science instruments:

•  Panoramic imaging system (telephotometer) , consisted of two photographic scanning devices with mirrors. The camera was capable of providing an image with the resolution of about 70,000 pixels, consisting of 500 vertical lines with 128 pixels each. Each pixel would be coded with a seven-digit number to be transmitted to the orbiter and later to Earth.

•  Thermometer

•  Barometer

•  Mass spectrometer designed to determine the level of concentration of various molecules in the atmosphere at the altitudes from 63 to 34 kilometers.

•  Nephelometer (or simply fog sensor) designed to measure the aerosol levels in the atmosphere.

•  Multi-channel gamma spectrometer, designed to detect the presence of naturally occurring radioactive elements in the Venusian soil, such as uranium, thorium and potassium.

•  Accelerometers designed to measure G-forces during the entry into the Venusian atmosphere.

•  Radiation densitometer for probing the density of the soil.