Venera 3 was the first spacecraft to hit another planet

The Soviet probe Venera 3 struck Venus on 1 March 1966, becoming the first spacecraft to reach the surface of another planet. Launched on 16 November 1965, it was supposed to lower a capsule through the atmosphere, but its communication systems failed before it arrived, so it returned no data from Venus at all.

Venera 3 is often described as the first probe to reach, or even land on, another planet. Both claims need qualifying. NASA’s list of space firsts at Venus runs:

• 14 December 1962: America’s Mariner 2 makes the first successful flyby of Venus, and the first successful planetary mission of any kind.
• 1 March 1966: Venera 3 becomes the first spacecraft to impact another planet.
• 18 October 1967: Venera 4 makes the first successful entry into Venus’s atmosphere.
• 15 December 1970: Venera 7 makes the first soft landing and returns the first data from the surface.
• 22 October 1975: Venera 10 sends the first photographs from the surface.

So Venera 3 was not the first visitor to Venus, and although its designers planned a landing, it simply slammed into the planet. Its real distinction is narrower: the first human-made object to touch another planet.

Two silent probes in one week

It was not the only Soviet probe to fall silent that week. Its predecessor Venera 2, built to fly past Venus and record data on the way, made its pass on 27 February 1966 at about 24,000 km, but it had overheated and was never heard from again. Two Soviet spacecraft reached Venus within days of each other, and neither sent anything back.

Venera 3’s entry vehicle carried a radio system, scientific instruments, power sources and medallions bearing the Soviet coat of arms, a calling card delivered to a planet that would not yield surface data until Venera 7, almost five years later.