This
image is a composite of the complete radar image collection obtained by
the Magellan mission. The Magellan spacecraft was launched aboard space
shuttle Atlantis in May 1989 and began mapping the surface of Venus in September
1990. The spacecraft continued to orbit Venus for four years, returning
high-resolution images, altimetry, thermal emissions and gravity maps of
98 percent of the surface. Magellan spacecraft operations ended on October
12, 1994, when the radio contact was lost with the spacecraft during its
controlled descent into the deeper portions of the Venusian atmosphere.
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Magellan
synthetic aperture radar mosaics are mapped onto a rectangular latitude-longitude
grid to create this image. Data gaps are filled with Pioneer-Venus Orbiter
altimetric data, or a constant mid- range value. Simulated color is used
to enhance small-scale structure. The simulated hues are based on color
images recorded by the Soviet Venera 13 and 14 spacecraft. Ovda Regio is
centered in this 90° East longitude view. This global data set reveals
a number of craters consistent with an average Venus surface age of 300
million to 500 million years.
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