Venera 3 launched
NOV 16, 2016
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.031353
On this day in 1965, the Soviet Union launched the space probe Venera 3 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The goal was to land on Venus. The 960 kg spacecraft was equipped with scientific instruments and a radio communication system. On 1 March 1966, Venera 3 crashed onto the Venusian surface, becoming the first humanmade object to reach another planet. However, the communications system had failed before entry, so scientists did not receive any planetary data.
Date in History: 16 November 1965
© 2016 American Institute of Physics
