We managed to sneak this one in, but like we said above, we’re on vacation now. The Pulp Intl. girlfriends insisted. And by insisted we mean that after years of reading the website they’ve learned to use violent means to get their way. 1959 on this cover, incidentally, by John Richards.
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.