On this night in science
The first photo from the ground on Venus
October 22, 1975
On this day in 1975, a lander called Venera 9 set down on Venus and sent back a picture of the ground around it. It was the first photograph ever taken on the surface of another planet: flat, broken rocks under a heavy sky.
Why it mattered
Venus is wrapped in clouds so thick that its ground is hidden from view. Venera 9's picture let people see what was under them for the first time.
Wonder together
What do you think it would feel like to stand on a planet where the sky is always cloudy?