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How long would it take to get to Venus?

Venus is a strange but charming planet. It portrays much of what we envisage as a hostile, alien world. An absent magnetic field, toxic atmosphere and days that last longer than years. But despite this skin of hostility, there are data that lead some astrobiologists to hypothesise that clouds in the atmosphere may actually be able to host simple life.

A planet worthy of further study at least perhaps? As our understanding of the solar system develops, and technologies advance, could Venus be worth another visit, and just how long would it take to get to Venus? Let’s Explore

Venus – Quick Facts

  • Distance From The Sun: 108,200,000 km (67,232,363 mi)
  • Radius: 6,052 km (3,761 mi)
  • Temperature: 438 to 482°C (820 to 900 °F)
  • Day length: 243.1 Earth days
  • Year length: 224.7 Earth days
  • Number of moons: 0
  • Closest Distance to Earth: – As close as 41 Million km in inferior conjunction.
  • Furthest distance to Earth: – As far as 257 million km at superior conjunction.
Venus

How Far Is Earth From Venus?

The closest that Earth and Venus approach each other is when Venus is at its furthest position from the sun (aphelion) and Earth is at its closest (perihelion), with both planets on the same side of the Sun. This is known as an inferior conjunction and happens roughly once every 584 days. As both planets have elliptical orbits, it is when they are at inferior conjunction at the thinnest part of their orbits that they are truly at their closest.

At it’s farthest, Venus can be as far as 257 million km from Earth on average. At it’s closest, it can be as far as 41 million km from Earth. As the orbit of Venus and Earth does change slightly over time, these closest and farthest distances expand and contract over time.

How Long Would It Take To Get To Venus?

Venus Facts

Mission flight times to Venus have varied across different missions. If the aim is simply to get there as quickly as possible while being able to observe, this can be achieved within about 3 months, as with the Mariner 2 mission. But if the goal is to get close enough to enter orbit safely, then this takes longer.

As with travelling to Mercury, because Venus is closer to the Sun than Earth, and objects speed up as they approach the Sun, some of that speed needs to be edged off for orbit to be achieved.

What Is The Shortest Trip?

The shortest successful trip any vessel from Earth has taken so far to reach Venus, was 109/110 days. This was achieved with the Mariner 2 mission which conducted the first successful flyby of Venus. It has been estimated that the Russian Venera 1 spacecraft did reach Venus quicker, at 97 days. However, Venera 1 lost contact with Earth and was not able to be adjusted to pass closer to the planet. This mission was a failure.

The more complex the mission the longer the flight time. These fast missions here were both flybys and could be launched at speed and without the need to slow down to enter a comfortable orbit. Later missions that are more complex have had a longer flight time. Such as the Venus Express mission which had a flight time of 153 days.

How Often Does The Closest Approach Occur?

The close approach between Earth and Venus occurs every 584 days. Interestingly, while Venus is the closest planet to Earth in terms of the alignment of planets in the Solar System, the planet Mercury is actually closer to Earth for more of the time than Venus. That is because Mercury has a much shorter orbital period of the Sun. It spends more time on the same side of the Sun as Earth and reaches inferior conjunction with Earth much more frequently than Venus.

Planet Venus

Missions To Venus – All Missions Past, Present And Proposed

There have been lots of missions to Venus. Lots of successful missions but also plenty of failures. In the 1960’s when the space race was in full throttle, there were 5 successful and 13 unsuccessful missions to Venus. All conducted between the fiercely competitive Soviet Union and USA. The USA did have a far more successful ratio of mission success, but also far fewer launches.

From 1970 onward missions to Venus have been far more successful with agency’s learning well from previous setbacks. The USSR in particular sent lots of missions to Venus. When we think of the early space race its common to think of NASA and the Apollo missions, but the USSR in many respects were every bit as ambitious in space.

Successful Missions To Venus So Far

Despite the popularity and highly publicised missions on the red planet, it is Venus that is our most visited cosmic neighbor. There have been more successful and unsuccessful missions to Venus than any other planet in the Solar System. Here are the successful ones so far!

SpacecraftCountryLaunch DateType of MissionMission Notes
Mariner 2USA – NASAAug 1962FlybyFirst successful flyby of another planet.
Venera 4Soviet Union – LavochkinJune 1967Atmospheric missionFirst mission to successfully descend through the atmosphere and send back data.
Mariner 5USA – NASAJune 1967FlybyConducted various atmospheric experiments and observations over the course of around 15months. Data from this mission and Venera 4 were shared between the USA and USSR COSPAR working group.
Venera 5Soviet Union – LavochkinJan 1969Atmospheric missionSuccessfully entered atmosphere and operated for 53 minutes before landing hard.
Venera 6Soviet Union – LavochkinJan 1969
Atmospheric mission
Successfully entered atmosphere and operated for 51 minutes before landing hard.
Venera 7Soviet Union – LavochkinAug 1970Lander missionMission only partially succeeded. The first to complete a ‘soft’ landing on another planet. However data sent back was limited as the lander rolled on landing damaging instruments.
Venera 8Soviet Union – LavochkinMar 1972Lander missionFirst mission to complete a successful landing intact on another planet.
Venera 9Soviet Union – LavochkinJun 1975Orbital and lander missionFirst mission to successfully enter orbit around Venus and to send back images from the surface of another planet.
Venera 10Soviet Union – LavochkinJun 1975Orbital and lander missionOnly the orbiter was disclosed at launch.
Pioneer-Venus 1USA – NASAMay 1978Oribter missionConducted many experiments including radar mapping and studying the magnetic properties of Venus.
Pioneer-Venus 2USA – NASAAug 1978Atmospheric mission with Four probesCraft arrived with 1 large and 3 small probes to study the atmosphere from different locations.
Venera 11Soviet Union – LavochkinSep 1978Orbital and lander missionMission conducted flyby and landing. Most instruments failed on landing, mission had some successes.
Venera 12Soviet Union – LavochkinSep 1978Orbital and lander missionMission conducted flyby and landing. Cameras failed on landing, mission had some successes.
Venera 13Soviet Union – LavochkinOct 1981Orbital and lander missionTook the first color images of the surface of Venus. First mission to record sounds from another planet. Lander exceeded mission expectations in remaining operatioal for 127 minutes.
Venera 14Soviet Union – LavochkinNov 1981Orbital and lander missionLander functioned for 57 minutes, which was longer than the 32 minutes it was designed for.
Venera 15Soviet Union – LavochkinJun 1983Oribter missionConducted radar mapping
Venera 16Soviet Union – LavochkinJun 1983Oribter missionConducted radar mapping
Vega 1Soviet Union – LavochkinDec 1984Hybrid mission including Flyby and lander with atmospheric probe.Joint mission to study both Venus and Halley’s Comet. Studied atmosphere by means of probe. Lander studied surface and spacecraft was directed on to the comet.
Vega 2Soviet Union – LavochkinDec 1984Hybrid mission including Flyby and lander with atmospheric probe.Joint mission to study both Venus and Halley’s Comet. Studied atmosphere by means of probe. Lander studied surface and spacecraft was directed on to the comet.
MagellanUSA – NASAMay 1989Oribter missionConducted radar mapping and HD imagery
Venus ExpressEurope – ESANov 2005Oribter missionStudy of atmosphere, surface and plasma.
AkatsukiJapan – JAXAMay 2010Oribter missionFailed to enter orbit on first attempt but succeeded on second attempt in 2015. Mission still in operation.
IKAROSJapan – JAXAMay 2010Solar sail experimentExperimental craft conducted flyby.

Venus As A Springboard To Other Planets

As well as the multitude of missions sent to observe Venus, the planet has also been used to aid in sending craft to other planets. Venus has been used in many missions to help correct flight path and velocity in sending craft out into the Solar System, and also for slowing craft down on approach to Mercury. This process is known as a gravity assist, and here are those missions.

SpacecraftCountryLaunch DateType of Mission
Mariner 10USA -NASA3rd Nov 1973Flyby en route to Mercury. Observed surface.
GalileoUSA -NASA18th Oct 1989Flyby en route to Jupiter. Observed surface.
CassiniUSA -NASA15th Oct 1997Flyby en route to Saturn. Observed surface.
MESSENGERUSA -NASA3rd Aug 2004Flyby en route to Mercury. Observed surface.
Parker Solar ProbeUSA -NASA12th Aug 2018Several Flybys en route to the Sun.
BepiColomboEurope – ESA20th Oct 20182 Flybys en route to Mercury. Observed surface.
Solar OrbiterEurope – ESA10th Feb 2020Several Flybys en route to the Sun.

Failed Missions To Venus

Missions to Venus got off to a rocky start. Most of the early missions in the 1960’s failed to get off the ground or out of low earth orbit. But with each failure came a lesson, an opportunity to adapt. Such is the nature of pioneering. These failures led the way to later successes.

SpacecraftLaunch DateCountryFlight IssueMission Notes
Sputnik 74 February 1961Soviet Union – OKB-1Launch FailureNever escaped low Earth orbit.
Venera 112 February 1961Soviet Union – OKB-1Spacecraft Coms FailurePerformed first flyby of another planet, but no data returned and the mission was a failure.
Mariner 122 July 1962USA -NASALaunch FailureDestroyed after launch for safety
Sputnik 1925 August 1962Soviet Union – OKB-1Launch FailureNever escaped low Earth orbit.
Sputnik 201 September 1962Soviet Union – OKB-1Launch FailureNever escaped low Earth orbit.
Sputnik 2112 September 1962Soviet Union – OKB-1Launch FailureNever escaped low Earth orbit.
Venera 1964A19 February 1964Soviet Union – OKB-1Launch FailureDid not reach orbit
Kosmos 2727 March 1964Soviet Union – OKB-1Launch FailureNever escaped low Earth orbit.
Zond 12 April 1964Soviet Union – OKB-1Electronics FaultComunications lost before reaching Venus. Flyby achieved but mission failure.
Venera 212 November 1965Soviet Union – OKB-1Spacecraft Coms FailureComs lost before data could be returned following flyby.
Venera 316 November 1965Soviet Union – OKB-1Spacecraft Coms FailureComs lost on entering atmosphere of Venus. No data returned so mission failure. It is believed atmospheric pressure caused critical damage. The craft was the first to enter the atmosphere and impact with another planet.
Kosmos 9623 November 1965Soviet Union – OKB-1Launch FailureNever low Earth orbit due to damage in later stages.
Kosmos 16717 June 1967Soviet Union – LavochkinLaunch FailureNever escaped low Earth orbit – failure in later stages.
Kosmos 35922 August 1970Soviet Union – LavochkinLaunch FailureNever escaped low Earth orbit – failure in later stages.
Kosmos 48231 March 1972Soviet Union – LavochkinLaunch FailureNever escaped low Earth orbit – failure in later stages.
Shin’en20 May 2010Japan – UNISECSpacecraft Coms FailureComs failed after launch.

Future Missions To Venus

Here are missions that are in current development for launch over the next decade. As well as these projects in development, there are a further 10 missions at proposal or concept stage across the various space agencies.

SpacecraftCountryLaunch Date (Proposed)Type of Mission
Rocket Lab’s Venus probeUSA – NASA2023To study the atmosphere by means of an atmospheric balloon.
Shukrayaan-1India – ISRO2024Mission includes Orbiter and an atmospheric balloon. This is India’s first mission to Venus as the country ramps up its space program
VERITASUSA – NASA2028Orbiter mission.
Venera-DRussia – Roscosmos2029Russia’s first trip back to Venus since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The mission includes an orbiter and a lander.
DAVINCI+USA – NASA2030Misison to study the atmosphere by means of an atmospheric probe.
EnVisionEurope – ESA2031Orbiter mission.

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