

Venus Is a Russian Planet ... Says Russia

Just because you get there first, that doesn't mean you own it.

venus, taken by jaxa's akatsuki spacecraft
  • This week, Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin said Venus is a "Russian planet."
  • It's unclear exactly what he meant by the statement, but, fortunately, the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 prevents countries from staking claims on a celestial body.
  • Earlier this week, researchers announced the discovery of a molecule called phosphine, which could signal that life exists in the Venusian atmosphere.

    Russia has some strong feelings about the planet Venus. Dmitry Rogozin, the chief of Roscosmos, Russia's space agency, spoke at the 2020 HeliRussia exhibition and declared that Venus is a "Russian planet," according to the Russian news agency TASS. (It's not.)

    This comes after the groundbreaking announcement on Monday that researchers have spotted potential evidence of life high in the clouds of Venus. The scientists found chemical signatures of a molecule called phosphine, which is only produced by living things or in places where there's high heat and pressure. Since Venus isn't subjected to high heat or high pressure, life might have just found a way.

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    Scientists have long suspected the caustic clouds coating Venus could harbor life. Unlike the stiflingly hot surface of the planet, its cloud decks are home to relatively Earth-like conditions, with temperatures hovering around 86 degrees Fahrenheit and pressures similar to what we feel at Earth's surface.

    Between 1967 and 1984, the Soviet Union sent a number of probes to explore Venus. Most missions were unsuccessful, but several of these spacecraft returned important data about the planet. Venera 7, for instance, was the first probe to successfully land on Venus's surface. (It died shortly after.) Venera 9, which launched in 1976, snapped the first images of the dusty, desolate planet. The final Venera missions, 15 and 16, focused on mapping portions of the planet's surface.


    While Russia has a rich history of sending spacecraft to Venus—and has significantly contributed to our knowledge of the strange world—the country can't claim ownership of the planet just because it was the first to land there. (It's not likely that Rogozin meant it literally, anyways.) This is all thanks to the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which prevents countries from owning any planet, moon, or other rocky body in the solar system and beyond:


    Still, it's clear Russia is interested in going back. For years, Roscosmos has been in talks with NASA about sending a new mission to Earth's "Evil twin," scheduled to launch sometime in the late 2020s. The mission, called Venera-D in a nod to the country's earlier missions to the planet, would send an orbiter, lander, and a long life surface station (LLISSE), which would house a series of instruments used to study the Venusian surface.

    "The complex explorations will also include soil and atmosphere samples, as well as exploring evolution processes on Venus that has purportedly suffered a climatic disaster connected with greenhouse effect that is much discussed on Earth today," Roscosmos revealed in a statement. The statement also suggests the space agency is considering its own mission, separate from the planned joint-mission with NASA.

    Russia isn't alone in its desire to visit Venus. This latest Venusian news will undoubtedly spur a rejuvenated interest in our closest planetary neighbor, which for decades has been sidelined in favor of missions to other locales in the solar system. From NASA's DAVINCI+ and VERITAS proposals to Rocket Lab's dreams of exploring Venus, we're about to learn a lot more about this mysterious world.

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