PDS_VERSION_ID = PDS3 LABEL_REVISION_NOTE = "Received at PPI Node, 2010;" RECORD_TYPE = STREAM OBJECT = MISSION MISSION_NAME = "VENERA 15 AND 16" OBJECT = MISSION_INFORMATION MISSION_START_DATE = 1983-06-02 MISSION_STOP_DATE = "NULL" MISSION_ALIAS_NAME = "N/A" MISSION_DESC = " 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 " MISSION_OBJECTIVES_SUMMARY = " Mission Objectives Overview =========================== The primary objectives of the mission were synthetic aperture radar mapping and topographic mapping of the surface of Venus. Regions poleward of 30 degrees north latitude were mapped during the 8 months of radar mapping operations. " END_OBJECT = MISSION_INFORMATION OBJECT = MISSION_HOST INSTRUMENT_HOST_ID = {"V15", "V16"} OBJECT = MISSION_TARGET TARGET_NAME = VENUS END_OBJECT = MISSION_TARGET END_OBJECT = MISSION_HOST OBJECT = MISSION_REFERENCE_INFORMATION REFERENCE_KEY_ID = "N/A" END_OBJECT = MISSION_REFERENCE_INFORMATION END_OBJECT = MISSION END