Planetary Data System
PDS Information
Find a Node - Use these links to navigate to any of the 8 publicly accessible PDS Nodes.

This bar indicates that you are within the PDS enterprise which includes 6 science discipline nodes and 2 support nodes which are overseen by the Project Management Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Each node is led by an expert in the subject discipline, supported by an advisory group of other practitioners of that discipline, and subject to selection and approval under a regular NASA Research Announcement.
Go To Mission:
VENERA 15 AND 16
VENERA 15 (V15)1
Radio Occultation Experiment (ROE)1
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)Geosciences
VENERA 16 (V16)1
Radio Occultation Experiment (ROE)0
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)Geosciences
Mission : Start date : 1983-06-02


Mission Overview
================
The main source for this text is the National Space Science Data Center.
Venera 15 and 16 were a two spacecraft mission primarily designed to
use 8 cm band side-looking radar mappers to study the surface properties
of Venus. The primary instruments of each spacecraft were a synthetic
aperture radar experiment and a radar altimeter experiment. Each
spacecraft also carried an energetic particles experiment, an infrared
Fourier spectrometer, and a radio occultation experiment.

Mission Phases
==============

VENERA 15 LAUNCH
----------------

Venera 15 launched on 1983-06-02 at 02:38:39 UTC from Tyuratam
(Baikonur Cosmodrome), U.S.S.R. using a Proton booster plus upper stage
and escape stages.

Spacecraft Id : V15
Target Name : Venus
Mission Phase Start Time : 1983-06-02
Mission Phase Stop Time : 1983-10-10
Spacecraft Operations Type : CRUISE

VENERA 15 VENUS ORBIT
---------------------

Venera 15 went into orbit around Venus on October 10, 1983,
and operated for approximately one year. Periapsis radius was
7080 km and apoapsis radius was 72080 km. Periapsis latitude was
62 degrees north.

Spacecraft Id : V15
Target Name : Venus
Mission Phase Start Time : 1983-10-10
Mission Phase Stop Time : UNK
Spacecraft Operations Type : ORBIT

VENERA 16 LAUNCH
----------------

Venera 16 launched on 1983-06-07 at 02:32:00 UTC from Tyuratam
(Baikonur Cosmodrome), U.S.S.R. using a Proton booster plus upper stage
and escape stages.

Spacecraft Id : V16
Target Name : Venus
Mission Phase Start Time : 1983-06-07
Mission Phase Stop Time : 1983-10-11
Spacecraft Operations Type : CRUISE

VENERA 16 VENUS ORBIT
---------------------

Venera 15 went into orbit around Venus on October 11, 1983,
and operated for approximately one year. Periapsis radius was
7080 km and apoapsis radius was 72080 km. Periapsis latitude was
62 degrees north.

Spacecraft Id : V16
Target Name : Venus
Mission Phase Start Time : 1983-10-11
Mission Phase Stop Time : UNK
Spacecraft Operations Type : ORBIT
Version ID : VERSION 2
doi : 10.17189/1519875
View Citation Info
doi 10.17189/1519875
Author A. L. Gavrik, Yu. A. Gavrik, P. Withers, S. Joy, Venera 15 and 16 Radio Occultation Ionospheric Electron Density Profiles, Version 1.
Start Date: 1983-10-12T02:23:00Z - Stop Date: 1983-11-01T07:13:00Z
This volume contains ionospheric electron density profiles obtained by the Venera 15 and 16 radio occultation experiment at Venus. THIS VOLUME IS UNDER PEER REVIEW - Please use caution.