@AtomicPunk23

Still blows my mind that they successfully landed a space probe on the least hospitable place in the inner solar system; and with 1970s tech. I love those photos of what looks like a yellow tinted Earth-like rocky landscape.

@jaydee3046

The U.S. decided it was not possible to keep a lander cool enough to work on venus. The Russian lander got around this with a very simple system. They had radiator devices that were filled with excess rocket fuel. The devices were deployed enroute to super cool the fuel from the coldness of space. The fuel was pumped through the lander to cool it upon landing.

@greggieboy393

In the 1950s it was written in the books of Knowledge that the surface of venus was possibly a tropical jungle. I can remember reading this as I was just a  child at the time.

@danielgyllenbreider

One of the greatest Space projects ever. Venus is amazing, and so was the Soviet passion for space exploration.

@infinidominion

They probably just told us its too hot, meanwhile they have a whole planet to themselves

@reorioOrion

The USSR was obsessed not with Venus, but with space.
Space travel, scientific breakthroughs, other planets, first contact.
This ideology permeated the entire Soviet society.
Pioneer ascent.

@lakojake4215

"Venera 13 carried a microphone. So we can listen to the sounds of Venus..."
Me: 👂
"Venera 14..."

@Venom_Snek

You didn't show the best image from the Venera-14 mission, it's a color image that actually shows the Venusian horizon, it's honestly an incredible sight, even though it's extremely flat and barren, the fact that it's the only clear image taken on Venus is incredible in and of itself. I'd highly recommend anyone that hasn't seen it to look it up, as it's likely the best we're going to get for a very long time.

Fantastic video otherwise though, I've been fascinated by the various missions to Venus for a long time now and you summarized it very well.

@Rocksidion

America: You destroyed millions to billions dollars worth of spacecraft.

The USSR: I'LL FUCKING DO IT AGAIN.

@brealistic3542

The Soviet Venera probes were amazing.

@dustsky

It's not uncommon for households in the former Soviet Union or Eastern Bloc to still have working machines or household appliances from the Soviet era that are in working condition. In Eastern Europe, we have the saying, “built like a Soviet tank” to refer to these almost indestructible pieces of engineering.

@Grom-rl8bm

Just to be clear, you kept showing the Berlin wall in reference to the USSR falling but the wall fell in 1989 while the USSR fell in 1991

@RILEYLEIFSON_UTAH

"Apple updates ALONE would make that impossible..." 

Truer words have never been spoken.

@thomastaylor6699

You have to hand it to the soviet scientists,  they didn't give up even when the Intel they had meant that their probe would melt under the brutal conditions of Venus.

@SRW-v1g

Imagine if the US and the USSR came together to create a full blown space station on the moon instead of competing

@Eric_Malbos

It is not obsession but perseverance.

@bondvagabond42

When i was working as a mechanic, one of my customers was an engineer who had done lots of development on the computers they put in cars.  Its a very tough environment for a computer, extremes of hot and cold, corrosive chemicals, vibration etc.  So they use carbide chips if my memory is working,  instead of silicon chips, like in your desktop.  They are much tougher than silicon chips, and deal with extreme heat better, which is key for being able to "pot" them in a lump of epoxy resin, to keep bad chemicals and vibrations away.  Its really hard to seal up a computer with a big cooling fan vent.  The russians had to use carbide chips for their venus probes, and i remember our customer, the engineer, was blown away by how short the lifespan was for a computer on venus, minutes or hours. Cant remember. This is with cutting edge version and big old budget version of car computer technology that lasts decades in a car.

@johntomasik1555

They said they recorded wind blowing.  I ended up looking up Venus's atmospheric density....which is 92 bar, or about 92 times denser than sea level on earth.  That's absolutely nuts.  The force generated by even a moderate wind would be off the chain.

@craigstergriffin2097

Wow, I had no idea about  any of these trips to Venus.   Love the pictures!  Got to give those Soviet engineers high marks.    Thanks!     🚀

@alexgood1056

Столько слов про политику ,но ни слова про институт и коллектив, ведущий тогда программу освоения венеры. Разработкой занималось ОКБ им. С.А. Лавочкина, которое в то время возглавлял Георгий Николаевич Бабакин.Само предприятие,  научный задел и сами аппараты сохранились, можно продолжить их исследования. Но их не запустят пока не дооснастят приборами для получения новых данных, а не повторения старых.