Venera 13

Venera 13

Postage stamp of Venera 13/14
Mission type	Venus flyby / lander
Operator	Soviet Academy of Sciences
COSPAR ID	1981-106A 1981-106D
SATCAT no.	12927 15599
Mission duration	Travel: 4 months, 2 days Lander: 127 minutes
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	4V-1 no.760
Manufacturer	NPO Lavochkin
Launch mass	4,397.8 kilograms (9,695 lb)[1]
Landing mass	760 kg (1,680 lb)
Dry mass	1,643.72 kg (3,623.8 lb)
Dimensions	2.7 m × 2.3 m × 2.7 m (8.9 ft × 7.5 ft × 8.9 ft)
Start of mission
Launch date	October 30, 1981 (1981-10-30), 06:04:00 UTC[1]
Rocket	Proton-K/D-1 8K82K
Launch site	Baikonur 200/40
End of mission
Last contact	lander: March 1, 1982 / carrier: at least until April 25, 1983
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Heliocentric
Eccentricity	0.17
Perihelion altitude	0.70 AU
Aphelion altitude	0.99 AU
Inclination	2.3 degrees
Period	285 days
Flyby of Venus
Spacecraft component	Venera 13 flight platform
Closest approach	March 1, 1982
Distance	~36,000 kilometres (22,000 mi)
Venus lander
Spacecraft component	Venera 13 descent craft
Landing date	03:57:21, March 1, 1982
Landing site	7°30′S 303°00′E / 7.5°S 303°E / -7.5; 303 (east of Phoebe Regio)
Venera ← Venera 12 Venera 14 →

Venera 13 (Russian: Венера-13 'Venus 13') was part of the Soviet Venera program meant to explore Venus.

Venera 13 and 14 were identical spacecraft built to take advantage of the 1981 Venus launch opportunity. The probes were launched five days apart, with Venera 13 launching on 30 October 1981 at 06:04 UTC and Venera 14 launching on 4 November 1981 at 05:31 UTC. Both had an on-orbit dry mass of 760 kg.

Venera 13 transmitted the first recording of actual sounds from another planet, including sounds of Venusian wind, the lander hitting the ground, pyrotechnic lens cap removal and its impact on regolith, and action of the regolith drilling apparatus.