Yet another subset of post-pulp literature was the hot-rod or racing novel. Henry Gregor Felsen made them his specialty and cranked out at least six books on the subject, but many other authors tackled the genre also. Above we have a collection of twenty-eight covers with racing themes, with art by Harry Schaare, et al. A few of these came from the racing forum theroaringseason.com, so thanks to the original uploaders.
1961—Soviets Launch Venus Probe
The U.S.S.R. launches the spacecraft Venera 1, equipped with scientific instruments to measure solar wind, micrometeorites, and cosmic radiation, towards planet Venus. The craft is the first modern planetary probe. Among its many achievements, it confirms the presence of solar wind in deep space, but overheats due to the failure of a sensor before its Venus mission is completed.