Many landers operated for nearly an hour or more. More than any other system, the Soviets had problems with their lens caps.
The Venera 9 lander operated for at least 53 minutes and took pictures with one of two cameras; the other lens cap did not release.
The Venera 10 lander operated for at least 65 minutes and took pictures with one of two cameras; the other lens cap did not release.
The Venera 11 lander operated for at least 95 minutes but neither cameras' lens caps released.
The Venera 12 lander operated for at least 110 minutes but neither cameras' lens caps released.
The Venera 14 craft had the misfortune of ejecting the camera lens cap directly under the surface compressibility tester arm (pictured here left of center,) and returned information for the compressibility of the lens cap rather than the surface.
Some more interesting Venus info:
It rotates so slowly that you could walk towards the setting sun at a brisk pace to watch the sun rise in to the sky.
The winds are so powerful on Venus that when they strike Venusian mountain ranges it detectably slows or speeds its rotation.
The atmosphere is so thick that rather than using parachutes, the Soviets simply installed a panel on top of the lander to increase its drag enough that it could impact the ground at a safe speed.
backbonus on August 7th, 2024 at 14:59 UTC »
IIRC, this landing craft lasted 18(ish) minutes on the surface.
Zhuul on August 7th, 2024 at 15:46 UTC »
This is one of the most insane things our species has ever accomplished.
MaxillaryOvipositor on August 7th, 2024 at 17:36 UTC »
Many landers operated for nearly an hour or more. More than any other system, the Soviets had problems with their lens caps.
The Venera 9 lander operated for at least 53 minutes and took pictures with one of two cameras; the other lens cap did not release.
The Venera 10 lander operated for at least 65 minutes and took pictures with one of two cameras; the other lens cap did not release.
The Venera 11 lander operated for at least 95 minutes but neither cameras' lens caps released.
The Venera 12 lander operated for at least 110 minutes but neither cameras' lens caps released.
The Venera 14 craft had the misfortune of ejecting the camera lens cap directly under the surface compressibility tester arm (pictured here left of center,) and returned information for the compressibility of the lens cap rather than the surface.
Some more interesting Venus info:
It rotates so slowly that you could walk towards the setting sun at a brisk pace to watch the sun rise in to the sky.
The winds are so powerful on Venus that when they strike Venusian mountain ranges it detectably slows or speeds its rotation.
The atmosphere is so thick that rather than using parachutes, the Soviets simply installed a panel on top of the lander to increase its drag enough that it could impact the ground at a safe speed.
Venus is awesome.