Also really cool are the first pictures from Venus from the USSR Venera missions: http://www.space.com/18551-venera-13.html http://www.space.com/18551-venera-13

Also really cool are the first pictures from Venus from the USSR Venera missions: http://www.space.com/18551-venera-13.html http://www.space.com/18551-venera-13.html The environmental challenge here was of course far greater than for Mars.