Idaho Skies Transcript for April 5th, 6th, and 7th

PAUL
Welcome to Idaho Skies for April 5th, 6th, and 7th. We’re your hosts, Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
The United States and Soviet Union began sending spacecraft to Venus in the early 1960s.

RACHEL
The first spacecraft to reach Venus was the American Mariner 2. Back on December 14th, 1962, the spacecraft passed 22,000 miles away from the planet. During its flyby, Mariner 2’s microwave radiometer determined that the planet had a surface temperature of 900 degrees. This was strong confirmation of radio telescope measurements made from Earth years earlier.  

PAUL
It was another five years before the next successful space mission reached Venus. In this case, it was Venera 4 launched by the Soviet Union. On October 18th, 1967, the Venera 4 capsule entered the atmosphere of Venus. This was the first time that humans ever sampled the atmosphere of another planet. Venera 4 discovered that the atmosphere of Venus consisted of around 93% carbon dioxide and 7% nitrogen.

RACHEL
Over the next five years, an additional four spacecraft reached Venus. The American spacecraft flew past Venus while the Soviet spacecraft continued making landings. On March 27th, 1972, Venera 8 was able to transmit data for 11 seconds after landing. Its measurements further confirmed that the atmosphere had both high temperature and high pressure. In fact, conditions were so extreme that they destroyed poor Venera 8.
 
PAUL
Venera 9 was the first lander to observe the surface of Venus on October 22nd, 1975. To survive long enough, the landing probe was pre-chilled and then placed on a trajectory that got it to the surface as quickly as possible. These precautions let Venera 9 transmit images and data for 55 minutes before succumbing to the planet’s surface temperature and pressure. The images showed a flat surface covered with loose rocks.
 
RACHEL
That’s Idaho Skies for the 5th, 6th, and 7th of April.

PAUL
Be sure to follow us on Twitter @IdahoSkies for this week’s event reminders and sky maps.
For Idaho Skies this is Paul...

RACHEL
...and Rachel.

PAUL
Dark skies and bright stars.