Trapped on Venus: What Remains of the Venera Probes Today?

[@V101SPACE]

Attention to all viewers! This video has sparked a lot of questions and discussions, which is fantastic-it’s great to see so much curiosity about this incredible subject! Based on the research I did while creating the video, I’ve tried to answer as many questions as I can. Here are the highlights of the most commonly asked questions so far: "It doesn't rain on the surface of Venus." That’s correct! Precipitation only occurs in the clouds, far above the planet's surface. The extreme temperatures near the surface prevent any liquid droplets from surviving. However, it’s theoretically possible for molten metals to 'rain' down in certain regions. While there’s little direct evidence of this phenomenon so far, just imagine the sheer strangeness of a world where that could happen! "If there's no oxygen, does that mean things aren't oxidized?" Good question! While there’s no free oxygen on Venus, oxidation doesn’t strictly require it. Oxidation refers to a chemical reaction where electrons are lost, and on Venus, reactive gases like sulfur dioxide (SO₂) or carbon dioxide (CO₂) can still cause corrosion or chemical degradation of metals, even without oxygen as we typically think of it. "Why are you showing photos of these spacecraft backwards?" When creating the animation, the text on the probes ended up flipped for some reason. I guess even animated probes can look a little different after decades on Venus! 😊 Thank you to everyone for your comments and for diving into this fascinating topic with me! I’ll continue to add to this list if more questions come up that I can answer. Keep the curiosity coming! - Rob

[@fueronporquetenianelsaturn9632]

Es posible que llueva acido sulfurico o azufre. No creo que el cafe pueda llover pero... ójala.

[@stevenswapp4768]

@@V101SPACE Rob is the man!👏

[@gregor_man]

"the text on the probes ended up flipped for some reason." For what reason? Just because this looks like a new trend in videos, and I don't understand that.

[@keith_5584]

Did you mean it is mirrored, flipped, or inside out? It is possible the Animation camera flipped the entire asset, (by looking through its own lens, yes that is possible since the camera is transparent), but its also possible it just flipped the text. Animation software constantly has existential crisis’ (Plural) so this is almost normal. What is terrifying is that Windows 10 is so horrible at memory management, it might bleed your closed project into the render of your next project. Its even more terrifying when it is just a face and 2 teeth. Why did we have to switch again?

[@Maxtyur]

I remember a qoute from a Russian engineer that worked on the Venara 14 probe.He said "we found hell and its called Venus"

[@marzo21]

what's up with russian scientists finding hells, I also remember one who said they had found hell in the deepest drilled hole at that time

[@clownofwar]

@@marzo21 And Russia has done it again in our time with the Ukrainian war, Russians are just really good at finding hells.

[@EddieSlabb]

​@@marzo21 Russians are pretty familiar with Hell folks

[@molybdaen11]

​@@marzo21That's a urban myth. All they found were half molten stone so they had to stop drilling.

[@marzo21]

@@molybdaen11 oh I see, one should really take scientific discoveries with a grain of salt but you gotta admit the consistency and irony with pragmatic people of science being sometimes obsessed with supernatural phenomena

[@saranshpandey3056]

Can we appreciate the fact that something designed in 1982 was able to achieve such remarkable Feat and is still to this date the only clear pictures of Venusian Surface ever taken and the only one to record what it sounds like for whatever time it survived. Despite all the advanced Tech All the attempts to capture Venusian surface have failed. Hope We Get success with the ISRO probe

[@V101SPACE]

Absolutely, it’s incredible to think about the ingenuity and resilience of the technology from 1982! The images and sounds captured by those early missions are nothing short of historic milestones. Venus is such an unforgiving environment, and the fact that those probes achieved what they did is a testament to the brilliance of the engineers and scientists behind them. It’s also exciting to see how far technology has come since then. Fingers crossed that ISRO's upcoming mission paves the way for even more groundbreaking discoveries about Venus! Rob

[@Nefertiti0403]

Absolutely

[@peedeegt]

Absolutely! If they had that sort of technology in 1982, imagine what is around now that none of us know about!

[@PAUL-MH]

I was two years old when it landed on venus. Such an amazing feet to land a probe on another planet other than our own!

[@stephanhirons3454]

I hope you meant plain because if it was plane you would be encouraging flat Venusers

[@ramachandra776]

Venera 13 and Venera 14 remain the most obscure but an astonishing achievement of space exploration . Don't know why it doesn't receive much attention . Great video to start the new year . Thanks .

[@V101SPACE]

Since the rise of KZbin, channels like mine have definitely helped bring more attention to the Venera probes. I think I’ve made at least five videos on them so far! I completely agree, however, they’re such incredible achievements and absolutely deserve more content and discussions. Thanks so much for watching! Rob

[@Vile_Entity_3545]

The salty west does not like Russia.

[@DrumEagle]

You know what really no one talks about? Pioneer 10 and 11

[@ThatPawikBoy]

When I first heard about them I was surprised that I had never heard of their fascinating mission before.

[@keithwilson2103]

You don’t hear much about Mercury missions either.

[@TapticDigital]

As an electronics guy, I found this mission incredible. The temperature on Venus is twice the heat to melt solder on circuitry, let alone any components that were soldered on. Electrolytic capacitors would explode like overheated ammunition. Absolutely astounding

[@jamessweet5341]

It sounds like they reverted a lot of it to older gold/silver/copper circuitry. No expert here though. Just a guess.

[@Jack908r]

The soviet space programme is fascinating and under reported. Few know about this, or the Lunokhod 1 probe that operated on the lunar surface for 321 days. It was remotely controlled and travelled a total distance of 10.54 km's. All this in 1970.

[@jamesfrench7299]

The one with bicycle or pram wheels?

[@JeffBilkins]

@@jamesfrench7299 it looked like an old bathtub with a big lid and pram wheels, and a bunch of sci-fi scrap bolted on. and it drove on the moon for almost a year so that's pretty good.

[@jamesfrench7299]

@@JeffBilkins amazing for something so early on. A shame it took animosity to egg them on.

[@MountainMan.]

Meteorologist on Venus: "And the forecast calls for cloudy skies with a high of 873 on Tuesday but get your jackets ready on Wednesday, as the high only makes it to 871."

[@SeymourButts-k2j]

It's like a sauna.

[@Solaris_Kou]

lol 😂

[@YnseSchaap]

Abandoned on a lifeless world. Forgotten by their creators .......Until now ! Venera : the revenge. Coming this summer in a theater near you

[@rachelar]

Venereal disease, space virus 🦠

[@NarwahlGaming]

The hero tries to burn the vessel. Venera: _"You think temperature is your ally, but you merely adopted the heat. I was born in it. Molded by it..."_

[@YnseSchaap]

@@NarwahlGaming 😁

[@Inshazaempire]

😂

[@thedailyreportchannel68]

Venera will return

[@spacecat3198]

One of my favorite channels to binge. 😊

[@gulfofmexico1569]

Bro: Here is the actual sound recorded from Venus! Also Bro: Talks over it so you cant hear anything. Thanks bro.

[@KandiKlover]

And only plays for 3 seconds. Fad people these days smh.

[@markheyes287]

Just search for it yourself then

[@randomlyentertaining8287]

He talked over a couple seconds of it. Chill out.

[@HM2SGT]

@@randomlyentertaining8287 He voiced a valid complaint other people share. Chill out.

[@redactedrider7606]

@@HM2SGTmy dude it’s wind. You wanna sit here and listen to wind for several minutes? Everyone knows what fuckin wind sounds like.

[@NEKRWSPHERE]

Venusian atmosphere at the surface exists in a state of supercriticality between gas and fluid. To me - it's fascinating which tests and types of fluid dynamics calculations were performed to design and prepare the probes for rapid descent into such an environment. It was absolutely a wild time to be alive in. Ours seems way less radical and a bit timid in comparison.

[@PaulaBean]

We have to contend with wokeness, in our present day.

[@lajoswinkler]

@@PaulaBean Nobody wants trumpanzee trolls here. Go away.

[@frankpienkosky5688]

"no bucks...no Buck Rogers....funding is what makes these things go up"....without the Soviet Union to provide impetus we quickly lost interest....we could already have been on Mars if congress had taken seriously "Mars Direct"

[@skyeeee626]

@@PaulaBean what does that have to do with venus?

[@kbanghart]

​@@PaulaBeanyou're biased

[@mattezhackblip]

I wondered about this yesterday, lol. Thank you for clarifying!

[@V101SPACE]

Thank you for your generosity! Rob

[@KSMvidcast]

I always thought the Venera program was one of the craziest and coolest space things ever done.

[@JeffBilkins]

Feels a bit Jules Verne classic sci-fi mission to a strange world.

[@Englishsea24]

Imagine the total cost of it

[@Gui.Vieira_]

Those pictures with the sound of the venusian winds make it very creepy.

[@beefgoat80]

And the atmosphere is so thick, a stiff breeze would knock you off your feet 😮

[@PaulaBean]

The Venera's were probably coated by an out shell of titanium because titanium is highly resistant to sulfuric acid under most conditions due to its ability to form a stable, protective oxide layer (titanium dioxide) on its surface. This passive layer shields the underlying metal from further corrosion. It's probable that the shells are still intact.

[@VicusUtrecht]

"were probably coated" Either they were, or weren't. "It's probable the shells are still intact" Did you forget your previous sentence?

[@PaulaBean]

@@VicusUtrecht Maybe I used the word 'probably' incorrect. I wanted to say: The Russians wanted to make the craft resistant to sulfuric acids, so that's perhaps the reason they chose for a titanium shell.

[@alexn5743]

Russia also is a leader in titanium such that they utilized it in ways the west would find wasteful. I'd be more surprised if it wasn't.

[@kbanghart]

​@@PaulaBeanno way they're still intact after decades

[@Veilhalm-4AZ]

​@VicusUtrecht you're probably real fun at parties.

[@alexjackson936]

Considering we have yet to repeat this, and what tech they had to work with at the time… this has always been a mind blowing achievement to me. Ever since I learned about it as a kid, I was fascinated by this mission…

[@artsoundsgreatASMR]

Venera was my favorite word when i was a kid, i didn't know what it was. When i found out what it was and what it looked like everything made sence. The name fits the shape, they are such badass objects!

[@frankpienkosky5688]

looks a bit like a russian tractor...not built for style

[@StalinTheMan0fSteel]

It's a shame Venus didn't develop similar to Earth, our planets are uniquely similar in size and distance from the sun. So much could have been learned about evolution of life.

[@jennyanydots2389]

Venus is over 390 times the size of earth and 50 times closer to the sun. Rumor has it that dinosaurs run the planet still, some kind of silurian empire and they have been sending lizard people to earth for hundreds of years. Elund Munsk is actually an alien plant from Venus.

[@PlanetGuy901]

It is a shame that Venus’ conditions worsened over time. It used to be a lot cooler and probably more Earthlike, but look at the planet now

[@StalinTheMan0fSteel]

@PlanetGuy901 Probably looking at Earth's future as the sun begins it final stage of life, swelling up into a red giant.

[@jennyanydots2389]

@@PlanetGuy901 You don't know what Venus was like. Mimicking what other people assume is not at all cool. Father does not approve. Apologize to me right now and this entire platform. Right now.

[@jennyanydots2389]

@@StalinTheMan0fSteel Brugh the sun is static. The woke liberal media has cooked up your brain brugh

[@V101SPACE]

Here we go-kicking off 2025 with the first video of the year! I want to take a moment to say a huge thank you to everyone who comments, likes, and watches my videos. This channel wouldn’t exist without your incredible support. You are truly one of a kind, and I can’t wait to dive in and create even more content for you throughout the year. Thank you all so much! - Rob

[@jennyanydots2389]

Your videos are so good I have to beet my son's dawg in front of the family after every one to cope with the emotions.

[@d4mdcykey]

Your videos have become the YT gold standard in the field, Rob. Endless thanks for your dedication and the striving for excellence with each upload.

[@Darby-qu6hz]

There's a lot of 80s left overs everywhere

[@thevikingwarrior]

Buy your own coffee! Stop taking the p*ss, and trying to take advantage of people who are stupid enough to do this. I am sick of people like you exploiting other people.

[@davidhollenshead4892]

The probes were only designed to last about two hours, when they ran out of N2 based coolant. There was no reason to attempt more due to the conditions making it very unlikely to last longer...

[@Knaeben]

It's an interesting fact that they were so well insulated that failure came from the heat of their own internal instruments. They had no way to bleed off the excess heat.

[@popermen694]

Right? I feel like there could have been a way to deal with this but maybe not?

[@PaulaBean]

Even an atmosphere of 470ºC can cool a radiator that is 600ºC.

[@InssiAjaton]

@@PaulaBean Indeed, but think all the stuff inside that is unable to handle the 470 and even less 600 degrees. Maybe vacuum tubes and ceramic insulations. But not wire insulation, including not Teflon. Wire wound resistor rated 300 or 350 degrees C. Solder connection, even with pure lead are gone. You could try welded connections. And how about capacitors - maybe mica or ceramic ones? No electrolytics, not at least wet slug tantalums that would boil and burst, I think. And batteries? Dry electrolytics, anybody? How about epoxy encapsulation? Hopeless, in my opinion.

[@BlackPill-pu4vi]

I've wondered about a provision to release a lot of common refrigerant into the interior to buy time. When the internal temp gets above a certain point, a cylinder with R-22 would open and chill it down. Maybe to buy another half hour of time.

[@David-hu2zx]

@@BlackPill-pu4vimakes sense to me. I can only imagine tho that if they wanted/needed it to survive another 30 minutes they would have designed it to. Perhaps with something like your idea. Probably too cost prohibited.

[@SPECTRA_87]

Its scary to think that one day landers and probes like these sisters or the curiosity rover, could be all that's left of us

[@spiralx6249]

I bet you're a load of fun at Easter.

[@SPECTRA_87]

@spiralx6249 I usually play with the dogs, they're more fun.

[@JeffBilkins]

we will be remembered by our space junk

[@scheuerle2]

Great work by the Soviets on Venus, and such a sharp contrast to their failed efforts on a Mars landing.

[@RyuuTenno]

about the only real failure with the American space program, is not sending probes to Venus when the Soviet Union did. And while the Soviet Union was just a complete mess with everything, I absolutely respect them for the Venusian probes. They may have lost the race to the Moon, but damn did they manage to give us some great info about Venus

[@kbanghart]

And yet I'm not sure how that's a failure. If the US had really prioritized Venus and failed, then yes I could understand.

[@RyuuTenno]

@@kbanghart failure by default. I mean, yeah, if you don't try, you don't technically fail. But, it's the fact that they've never focused on sending a probe to Venus ever afaik. Like, Russia succeeded in beating us to send a *working* probe to Venus that managed to survive long enough to get information back. And at no point have we ever sent one there to get data ourselves. Plenty of Mars rovers and such, but nothing for Venus. And on top of that, we've got people theorizing ways to colonize and visit Venus, and yet, we're relying on information gained from the Russians. Not saying the Russian info is bad, but it's just bad that there's not *more* work involved in understanding it if some of them are interested in doing anything there. I think the last thing to go there was a satellite probe? And that's really it.

[@kennedysan1045]

First satellite, first person into space....the moon is an arbitrary finish line.

[@TheMelorino]

​@kennedysan1045 only possible winner is nasa.

[@ZOMBIEo07]

Lost?????? Soviet Union beat USA in pretty much everything space related. Also Soviet Union landed on the moon first with the remote controlled vehicle Lunokhod. The only reason americans decided to land on the moon with cosmonauts is because they were tired of being humiliated by Russia and it was one of the only few "firsts" left.

[@pinchecassie]

poor venera probe 😢😢😢

[@frankpienkosky5688]

there may be a time when we'll recover many of these early space age wonders....recall the apollo astronauts walking down to inspect one on the surface of the moon

[@umberct]

I cried

[@Silver77cyn]

Gone, but not forgotten. 😔

[@pinchecassie]

thank you for comfort :)

[@mrespanfanx]

It was and still is an absolutely extraordinary achievement.

[@liberty-matrix]

Excellent way to tribute that monumental event, often overlooked in the West.

[@jamesfrench7299]

Not by me. It has followers.

[@worldsincollision]

do this kind of video on all the pioneer probes.

[@Skank_and_Gutterboy]

I first read that as, "What remains of Panera Bread today?" Must be bedtime.

[@HM2SGT]

Not just me then...! 😅👍

[@garethmurtagh2814]

Great video! The BBC documentary series The Planets covered the Venera probes, there was an interview with Vladimir Perminov who was one of the engineers who helped to design the landers. In order to replicate the conditions on the surface, the Russians built a massive pressure chamber, it would often take a full day after each test before the pressure dropped enough to open the chamber. After one such test Perminov and his team entered and saw that the test component that had mounted on the chamber’s wall had disappeared. Below its mounting point was a streak of material showing where it had run down the wall after it had melted. They also interviewed Saha Basilevsky, a geologist who worked on several Venera missions. One one of the earlier missions the lander reached the surface but failed to send back an image. There was a frantic meeting when one of the bosses suggested that “We’ve landed in something very sticky and viscous,” (It was later realised that the lens cap had melted onto the camera before it could be jettisoned.) in response according to Basilensky ‘a young, nasty voice,’ called out “Yes sir! In the shit!” 🙂

[@generovinsky7228]

Thanks!

[@Christopher-N]

It's was an incredible feat of engineering. It would be exciting if extremophiles were discovered in Venus' upper atmosphere, dining on the sulfuric acid like they do around volcanic vents here on Earth.

[@AniMageNeBy]

A salute to the probes of mankind!

[@GasStationToilet]

No annoying ad reads I love it.

[@briandoss9232]

I love those pictures of the surface. That is really cool. Amazing something that old was able to make pics that clear.

[@dionysus2006]

I can see a business model for recovering probes from Venus, Mars, the Moon, heliocentric orbits like the Apollo 10 LM, etc and setting up a museum. We should be able to do it in about 100 years.

[@frankpienkosky5688]

yes...can envision the Apollo11 site becoming a tourist attraction one day...even Captain Video had an episode dealing with something like that long before it actually happened...

[@molybdaen11]

The originals would be in a bad state by then and expensive to recover. And even Toda historic interesting machines had to be destroyed because it's to expensive to keep them.

[@jessicaregina1956]

Problem is all the respective governments will have recovered them before then😂

[@cmt6997]

@@molybdaen11pretty sure the Apollo sites could last a few million years with exactly zero maintenance. It wouldn’t be hard.

[@molybdaen11]

@@cmt6997 The flags are already white out because of the radiation. And the surface or the noon may have no own weather, but constant bombardment of meteors of all sizes.

[@VictoryNotVengeance]

Rob V101Space hands down the best space exploration channel on KZbin and it’s not even close

[@mutatadaniel]

Thank you so much for answering the question I've been asking myself for so many days. Much love from Zambia 🇿🇲❤😊

[@V101SPACE]

You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed the video. Rob

[@terrygp1]

Brilliant thanks for the video, I have always speculated how the probes are faring 43 yrs later.

[@atomicskull6405]

The disk on top is an air brake. In order to get them onto the surface and operating as quickly as possible the parachutes were detached in the upper atmosphere and the probes free fell the rest of the way and basically crash landed into the surface with the impact absorbed by the crush ring at the bottom. The venusian atmosphere is so thick at the surface that they impacted with about the same force as being dropped from 10 meters at sea level on earth.

[@GlidingZephyr]

A fantastic video, as always. 👍 These probes deserve more recognition, and it's facinating to think of what else we could still learn from exploring Venus, if given the chance.

[@Manv4387]

Amazing video Rob! Strange nobody hasn't sent another probe to survive even longer on Venus surface.

[@josephpacchetti5997]

Fascinating Video. V-101 Rocks. 👍👊😎

[@RightWingNutter]

I read a recently of a semiconductor process that can operate up to about 1000° F. There would obviously be a LOT of engineering to be done to make the rest of a potential new probe to Venus’ surface, if it were thought to be worth it. A power supply that would operate at those 900° surface temps would be an obstacle too. I’ve not heard of any tech that could operate that hot without cooling.

[@virmirfan]

Yeah, though what about using a wind turbine with Venus's atmosphere for power?

[@low-phas]

They're probably in better condition now than the plastic cars made today will be in 43 years.

[@frankpienkosky5688]

buying a car today is a bit like buying a refrigerator....they all look the same....strictly utilitarian...not so in the past...

[@unnamedchannel1237]

A little thermal runaway in both cases I suspect

[@infosecafterdark-ds9]

I hope these probes make an appearance in the For All Mankind spinoff! This is amazing.

[@captainpotatoaim9381]

I hope that one day when we vist Venus, we find the remains of these most remarkable extra palanatery vehicles and bring them home

[@ShadowriverUB]

If sending probes to die will be cheaper then maybe yes

[@taherahmad2818]

Thanks for this explanatory video. The heat and atmospheric pressure on this planet are sufficient to turn the metal into a liquid and then evaporates the Venera Probes.

[@LordDustinDeWynd]

SPOILER: What happened to Venus landers? They're heavily corroded lumps on Venusian surface.

[@safeysmith6720]

You gotta give it to those Soviets for pulling this amazing feat off!

[@tr1p1ea]

It's just that it takes a decade now but they launched so many in shorter intervals 40+ years ago...

[@pad3805]

Thanks for nice information 👍

[@imaldon1]

It would be awesome to see a video of the Huygens spacecraft 20 years after its landing near the Adiri region on Saturn's moon Titan (January 14, 2005). I'm sure V101 Space can do it 😊👏❤🛰️.

[@peterjackson2666]

Huygens is in the deep freeze, as opposed to Venera in a super-hot oven. So, it should look about the same as it did then.

[@jhill4874]

IMO, the Venera probes were engineering marvels.

[@InfiniteHorizons2]

I remember watching the footage on the TV when the Soviets released it, and quite a monument to their space program back then. I have noticed more orbital probes are looking to be sent to Venus becuae of the renewed interest with the planet, but it would be great to see how long a lander with modern day materials and instruments would last on its surface today, and the images it would send back.

[@psycho479]

Thanks for that nice video!!!!

[@mrcokez1]

Ive been hooked to this channel ever since the, " falling into " series and been in love ever since. I learned alot, heres to another year of great content; best wishes 😊

[@grundged]

Sounds like an awesome place to vacation.

[@tonberry277]

Thanks for the video, awesome as usual. Perhaps you could make another about LRVs left on the Moon.

[@josemoreno3334]

Great video. I all ways wondered what happen to them both. Kind of sad ..

[@nigeldepledge3790]

IIUC, Veneras 9, 10, 11 and 12 also successfully soft-landed on Venus. The data that they returned informed the design of Veneras 13 and 14. None of these four earlier probes returned photographs because either they didn't carry cameras or the lens caps failed to detach when needed. I don't recall if it was Venera 13 or Venera 14, but one of these two probes had an instrument to return data on the composition of the surface, but got no good data because its point of contact with the surface was where that probe's lens cap had happened to end up. All of the current data we have about the surface of Venus comes from the Soviet Venera programme that ran from the 1960s up to the early '80s.

[@sergeychmelev5270]

False. Even Venera 9 returned images from the surface. They are easy to find. The 13 and 14 were the only ones with _color_ cameras.

[@nigeldepledge3790]

@sergeychmelev5270 - oh. Yeah. So which probes had the lens caps that didn't come off?

[@sergeychmelev5270]

@@nigeldepledge3790 11 and 12 had that problem.

[@nigeldepledge3790]

@sergeychmelev5270 - OK, thanks.

[@gezzarandom]

Venus is the image you’d get when you think of Hell. BTW I managed to catch a photograph of Venus in the twilight sky.

[@ZarviroffSerge]

Lesser known USSR Venus program was the Vega. It consisted of two descent vehicles that floated for days through the Venusian atmosphere at about 50 km altitude using basically hot air balloons, collecting scientific data. While the surface of Venus is not survivable at all, the atmosphere at around 50 km actually is. Temperature and pressure are earth-surface-like at tested altitudes. Venusian atmosphere is so dense, that it allows large objects to float in it. For these reasons, the USSR viewed Venus as a better candidate for colonization, than Mars. It's easier to deliver cargo to it, because you fly towards the Sun, which is the center of gravity, requiring less fuel to do so. And there are no unsolvable problems on Venus, that Mars has - the extreme deficits of gravity and air pressure.

[@Trek001]

The picture you question over if its 13 or 14 is actually 13 14 was photographed with Soviet lettering and insignia already in place

[@grahamrich3368]

Really amazing!! Thank you V101 Space!! 👏👏

[@rickyroberson5582]

The Venera 14 had a probe to touch the surface and measure soil properties...only to sample the camera lens cap that had popped off earlier and come to rest in a most unfortunate location around the lander.

[@virmirfan]

Yeah, those lens caps either got stuck on it or fell in the way of things

[@Twenty_Six_Hundred]

I maybe wrong but i thought oxidation only takes place when oxygen is present? Wouldn't it decay in a different form to here on earth.

[@V101SPACE]

Great question! Oxidation doesn’t always require oxygen (O₂) specifically, it’s a process where electrons are lost, and other compounds, like sulfur dioxide (SO₂), can act as oxidizing agents. On Venus, the probes would likely decay differently compared to Earth due to the extreme heat, pressure, and corrosive atmosphere. These conditions would lead to unique chemical reactions that corrode and transform the probes over time. Thanks for watching! Rob

[@Twenty_Six_Hundred]

@V101SPACE Thanks, would be interesting to see a photo in the future of how they have actually decade on a planet with a different conditions to ours

[@Chad_Thundercock]

All sorts of gasses and liquids can and do oxidize other materials. Chlorine and fluorine are even better oxidizers than oxygen. The term "oxidize" is a holdover from before we knew as much about the periodic table as we do now. And if anyone ever asks if you want to do anything involving fluorine, the answer is "nope, absolutely not a chance in hell."

[@allangibson8494]

Sulphur Trioxide will certainly oxidise most things…

[@realzachfluke1]

BEAUTIFUL graphics, Rob. I loved all of it.

[@jouk3338]

The best poems from this channel 💡💙💙

[@reizelbliss6202]

I've always watch your videos every night then I fell asleep. Thanks for the information. I'll recommend your channel to the other people. Ritz from Philippines

[@jamesfrench7299]

The acid never reaches the surface so that’s not a factor. We’re talking exotic metals here and a complete absence of water or any other solvent, or oxygen which contributes to rust. The conditions there may help preserve parts of it. The Soviets built things in a stout fashion, over engineering rather than looking for efficiency. They may well be surprisingly recognisable. The mechanisms and electronics are of course toast.

[@thelovertunisia]

460c is no problem for steel or stainless steel but for electronics it is. Vacuum tubes may be able to endure temperatures like that better. Semiconductors not at all.

[@gate8475]

This is so awesome! Can you make this a series, like, what happened to all the probes and how would they look like today, on Mars, Titan.. What a great achievement, I like the whole mindset, “if we are going there, we are packing everything”, they had not one but two of them, they even had a freakin 🎤!! I always thought mars was the first planet we heard sounds from! so cool! I like that! I totally agree, if youre on a mission, just bring everything, mics, drones, rover, orbiter everything in one. these missions dont happen every day. I heard that on Titan when they land, they gona do it no where near the lakes, im like bring two freaking things, just like viking and venera, one to the lakes and one to the equator. they think they gona fly the thing thousands of kilometres to the lakes. sure. on a unknown moon with unknown terrain, and with an actual weather! one gust of wind, one stormy night, there goes the drone

[@frankpienkosky5688]

actually they're considering a submersible.....

[@Cerbera66]

Thanks for the impressing video 😊

[@V101SPACE]

My pleasure. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Rob

[@Casperthegator]

More! Please more vids on Venus!

[@V101SPACE]

Thanks so much for your incredible support, Casper! Don’t worry-there’s plenty more on the way. The script for the next video is already written, and if all goes to plan, it should be uploaded next week. Rob

[@Casperthegator]

​@@V101SPACEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

[@Casperthegator]

​@@V101SPACELet's go!!!

[@nornje]

What a poetic approach! Thanks a lot!

[@thanoseolios8281]

Thanks for this beautiful video!

[@lecturesfromleeds614]

Soviet space program was very impressive!

[@andersnilsson973]

No it was not.

[@sergeychmelev5270]

You either do not get impressed at all, or just politically biased.

[@ЕвгенийНовак-в7ю]

Scandinav guy? It explains it all :-)))

[@ΣταύροςΚουρουνης]

Great work!! Nice video!!

[@ellisonhamilton3322]

A hellish environment to be sure. Thanks.

[@xmightyxquinnx1]

It's insane how much further ahead in space travel, flight, and exploration, the Soviet union was compared to anyone else. They really were the founding fathers of the 21st century.

[@jeremyhouston3438]

They snatched the better nazi scientists after ww2

[@YBM2007]

Kinda, the Venera program was kind of 'brute force' by nature

[@frankpienkosky5688]

for awhile...their dominance lasted less than a decade

[@andersnilsson973]

No, they were not. It was a horrible death machine of a country.

[@ericbrumley9026]

They were much more cavalier with Soviet lives. They were much more willing to take risks than we were. You do know we made it to the moon and they didn’t?

[@mike311271]

AMAZIN who knows with the way tecnology moves, one day we might be able to see if anything remains of them

[@RT-mm8rq]

Some day will discover that some microscopic tardigrades hitched a ride on those probes. They've survived, mutated and are now the size of school busses.😉

[@grahamrich3368]

Brilliant comment!! 👏👏 😂

[@molybdaen11]

I have seen that movie. Mixing humans with insects and crabs does not work well.

[@Xlaminator]

6:40 92 bar equals 92 kp/cm², that is far from a small car per centimeter squared. You are off by one order of magnitude here ;) But otherwise, as always a great documentary! THX for your great content.

[@iraclis_papadopoulos]

#V101SPACE Perfect one like always, but please make some space traveling videos like the one we all going to the middle of the milky-way center or the outermost universe and back...

[@jamesabbott5242]

Awesome Video

[@V101SPACE]

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I certainly enjoyed making it. :) Rob

[@paulpaulsen7777]

I am very much amazed, how many people and also literature mix up sulfuric and sulfurous acid. Most sources explain, there was sulfuric acid in Venus' atmosphere. But sulfuric acid H2SO4 is produced by Sulfur Trioxide and water, while sulfurous acid H2SO3 comes from Sulfur Dioxide and water and is much weaker than sulfuric acid. There is a huge difference between those two compounds.

[@TheStarBlack]

This video has an interesting At Mosphere

[@elleni-42]

It wqs so cool to see the surface of another planet let alone as hot as Venus.. happy new year rob..🫡💙

[@V101SPACE]

Happy New Year Elleni!

[@chicochico6863]

Klasse👍🏻 Danke ❤

[@tredfxman]

The drill helped making groundbreaking achivments, if you catch the drill...?

[@montylc2001]

More than likely they are just lumps of slag with the higher melting point metals strewn about. But, nonetheless, another great video.

[@lajoswinkler]

On the contrary, there is nothing on Venusian surface that would turn them into slag. These are titanium pressure vessels and there can be no corrosion in an environment without moisture.

[@montylc2001]

@@lajoswinkler ?????? Not very hip on chemistry, are you.

[@KingBritish]

Good evening Rob.

[@V101SPACE]

Good Evening! I hope you’re staying warm during this cold spell we are having . Take care and stay safe! Rob

[@KingBritish]

@V101SPACE You too mate nice one.

[@jareds8729]

it's crazy how it took us so long to get something to survive the bottom of the ocean, let alone in a corrosive inferno. imagine this generation trying to accomplish this feat with technology of the time

[@thelovertunisia]

Best think for such cases, simple cable logic with ruggedised relays.

[@BooBoo586]

I don’t know why the ending choked me so much that I found myself crying like a baby. To think of this once important probe relaying information to the Soviet Union, has become a piece of tortured metal, sad, lonely and decaying in the hellish environmental conditions of Venus. This turned out to be more gut wrenching than I thought.

[@SMGJohn]

Bruh

[@osmond0079]

…not much different than the fate of the Titanic really…!

[@jedipadawan7023]

We have a MBTI INFP personality type here...

[@BooBoo586]

@ Layman’s terms please.

[@jedipadawan7023]

@@BooBoo586 Just google MBTI INFP. You'll find it all explained.

[@LocustaVampa]

I just assumed it melted into a puddle, but I'll watch this video anyway

[@BlackFlagHeathen]

The US put a human being on the moon. The USSR made contact with hell, and sent back audio and image proof. I’d say the space race was a pretty even match.

[@tombuilder1475]

great essay and images!

[@albertoandrade9807]

There is an old show from mid 2000s called race to planets or something like that on discovery channel. It was about an manned expedition to basically all the solar system. When they go to venus one od the astronauts is the grandson of one of the Venera engineers. He founds it still standing and proudly yells "the soviet machine beat Venus!"

[@moonbeamskies3346]

I walked the surface of Venus in the nude. The word torture doesn’t capture what it was like.