|
|
|
MagellanBy Marty McDowell/NASA
On May 4, 1989, the United States launched Magellan. The Magellan
spacecraft, named after the sixteenth-century Portuguese explorer whose
expedition first circumnavigated the Earth, arrived at Venus on August 10,
1990. Magellan collected radar images of 98 percent of the planet's
surface, with resolution 10 times better than that of the earlier Soviet Venera
15 and 16 missions.
Altimetry and radiometry data also measured the surface topography and
electrical characteristics. The spacecraft made a dramatic conclusion to
its highly successful mission when it was commanded to plunge into the
planet's dense atmosphere Tuesday, October 11,1994 to gain data on the
planet's atmosphere and on the performance of the spacecraft as it
descended.
Source: NASA.
|
|
|
Share Your Memories!What do you remember about Magellan? Have you any compelling stories to share? Share your stories with the world! (We print the best stories right here!) |
|
Space References (Books):
Dickinson, Terence. Nightwatch:
A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe. Firefly Books, 1998.
Greene, Brian. Elegant
Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate
Theory. Vintage, 2000.
Hawking, Stephen. Illustrated
Brief History of Time, Updated and Expanded Edition. Bantam, 1996.
Hawking, Stephen. Theory
of Everything: The Origin and Fate of the Universe. New Millenium,
2002.
Hawking, Stephen. The
Universe in a Nutshell. Bantam, 2001.
Kaku, Michio. Hyperspace:
A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps and the Tenth
Dimension.
Kranz, Gene. Failure
Is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond.
Berkley Pub Group, 2001.
Sagan, Carl; Druyan, Ann. Comet,
Revised Edition. Ballantine, 1997
Sagan, Carl. Cosmos,
Reissue Edition. Ballantine, 1993
Sagan, Carl. Pale
Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space. Ballantine, 1997
Space References (Videos):
Cosmos.
PBS, 2000.
Stephen
Hawking's Universe. PBS, 1997.
Hyperspace.
BBC, 2002.
Life
Beyond Earth PBS, 1999.
The Planets. BBC, 1999.
Understanding
The Universe. A&E, 1996.
|
|
|
.gif) |
SPACE SPECS |
|
| | This global view of the surface of Venus is centered at 0 degrees east longitude. | | | | Courtesy of NASA | |
|  | Launched: May 4, 1989
| |
| | Destination: Venus
| |
| | Arrival: August 10, 1990
| |
| | Return: N/A
| |
| | Nation: U.S.
| |
| | Mission: Orbit and mapping
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
.gif)
.gif){kind=small}
.gif)
.jpg)
