Magellan
Magellan's mission was to explore the surface of Venus. Deployed in 1989, It was constructed mainly of left over parts from the Voyager program. Magellan consists of a 12 foot diameter antenna dish, and a long white horn-shaped antenna on its left side in order to gather more accurate data on the topographic features of Venus.
The majority of the spacecraft is covered by white reflective material used to protect its delicate instruments from the harmful radiation of the Sun. It finally entered Venus's orbit in August 1990. Magellan sent many useful images back to Earth that helped scientists construct a map of the planet's surface. Magellan's mission ended in October 1994 when it was allowed to plunge into Venus's atmosphere.
