astronomy

Venera 15

Venera 15 is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Venera 15 rather than just read about it. In short: Venera 15 (Russian: Венера-15 meaning Venus 15) was a spacecraft sent to Venus by the Soviet Union. This uncrewed orbiter was to map the surface of Venus using high resolution imaging systems.

Key takeaways

Venera 15 belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Venera 15 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Venera 15 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Venera 15 (Russian: Венера-15 meaning Venus 15) was a spacecraft sent to Venus by the Soviet Union. This uncrewed orbiter was to map the surface of Venus using high resolution imaging systems. The spacecraft was identical to Venera 16 and based on modifications to the earlier Venera space probes.

Mission profile

Venera 15 was launched on June 2, 1983, at 02:38:39 UTC and reached Venus's orbit on October 10, 1983. The spacecraft was inserted into Venus orbit a day apart from Venera 16, with its orbital plane shifted by an angle of approximately 4° relative to the other probe. This made it possible to reimage an area if necessary. The spacecraft was in a nearly polar orbit with a periapsis ~1000 km, at 62°N latitude, and apoapsis ~65000 km, with an inclination ~90°, the orbital period being ~24 hours. Together with Venera 16, the spacecraft imaged the area from the north pole down to about 30°N latitude (approximately 25% of Venus surface) over the eight months of mapping operations.

Spacecraft structure The Venera 15 and 16 spacecraft were identical and were based on modifications to the Venera 9 orbiter and the Venera 14 carrier spacecraft. Each spacecraft consisted of a 5 m (16 ft) long cylinder with a 0.6 m (2.0 ft) diameter, 1.4 m (4.6 ft) tall parabolic dish antenna for the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) at one end. A 1-meter diameter parabolic dish antenna for the radio altimeter was also located at this end. The electrical axis of the radio altimeter antenna was lined up with the axis of the cylinder. The electrical axis of the SAR deviated from the spacecraft axis by 10 degrees. During imaging, the radio altimeter would be lined up with the center of the planet (local vertical) and the SAR would be looking off to the side at 10 degrees. A bulge at the opposite end of the cylinder held fuel tanks and propulsion units. Two square solar arrays extended like wings from the sides of the cylinder. A 2.6 m (8.5 ft) radio dish antenna for communications was also attached to the side of the cylinder. The spacecraft each massed 4,000 kg (8,800 lb). Both Venera 15 and 16 were equipped with a synthetic-aperture radar (SAR). A radar was necessary in this mission because nothing else would be able to penetrate the dense clouds of Venus. The probes were equipped with on board computers that saved the images until the entire image was complete. This radar system replaced the normal landers that previous Venera probes brought to Venus. List of spacecraft instruments and experiments:

Polyus-V Synthetic Aperture Radar Omega Radar altimeter Infrared Fourier Spectrometer Cosmic-Ray Detectors (6 sensors) Solar-Plasma Detectors To get to Venus, Venera 15 was placed in a heliocentric orbit with perihelion of 0.71 AU, apohelion of 1.01 AU, eccentricity of 0.17, orbital inclination of 2.3 degrees and orbital period of 293 days.

Illustrations

Flight profile of Venera 15

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Venera 15

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Venera 15 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Venera 15 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Venera 15 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Venera 15

In research: Venera 15 appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Venera 15 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Venera 15 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1983 in the Soviet Union, 4V-2, Derelict space probes, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Venera 15 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Venera 15 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Venera 15 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Venera 15 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Venera 15 in simple terms?

Venera 15 (Russian: Венера-15 meaning Venus 15) was a spacecraft sent to Venus by the Soviet Union. This uncrewed orbiter was to map the surface of Venus using high resolution imaging systems.

Why does Venera 15 matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Venera 15?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Venera 15.