"But given it likely never had oceans, it is hard to imagine Venus ever having supported Earth-like life, which requires liquid water." Several spacecraft have successfully landed on the surface ...

Yet by the time the Vega 2 mission reported its successful landing in 1984, the USSR which had been running the Venera and Vega programs ceased their exploration of Venus. Even so the 1980s saw 8 ...

On the two closest planets—Venus and Mars—Earth probes have already landed (the first successful landing on Venus by the Venera 7 mission took place back in 1970), and the surface of the ...