2.1K views · 119 reactions | In 1975 and 1982, four of the Soviet Union’s Venera probes captured our only images of Venus’ surface. Now, NASA's first Venus orbiter in three decades is facing an indefinite delay. If you're a U.S. citizen, sign the petition to #SaveVERITAS ▶️ https://bit.ly/3LVZcux | The Planetary Society | Facebook

Venus is so hot that the surface glows brightly enough to be seen on the nightside of the planet from space! In July 2020, Parker Solar Probe made a close pass by Venus to get a gravity assist that would fling it closer to our star, and while it was taking pictures of the nightside of the planet, it caught something unexpected: the first visible light images of surface features on Venus from space. The mission team made a plan to capture as much data as possible during its next pass by the plane