Magellan Venus radar-mapping spacecraft
Magellan was a three-axis-stabilized Venus orbiter built by Martin Marietta Astronautics Group for NASA and managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Its mission-specific design combined heritage hardware from Voyager, Galileo, Mariner 9, and other programs with a radar mapping system, enabling near-global surface imaging, altimetry, gravity mapping, and the first sustained aerobraking campaign at another planet.
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Identity
- Aliases
- Venus Radar MapperVRM
- Family Name
- Magellan
- Full Name
- Magellan Venus radar-mapping spacecraft
- Roles
- interplanetary_probeorbiter
- Status
- retired
- Type
- spacecraft
Details
- Description
- Magellan was a three-axis-stabilized Venus orbiter built by Martin Marietta Astronautics Group for NASA and managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Its mission-specific design combined heritage hardware from Voyager, Galileo, Mariner 9, and other programs with a radar mapping system, enabling near-global surface imaging, altimetry, gravity mapping, and the first sustained aerobraking campaign at another planet.
- Dimensions
- Length M
- 4.6
- First Flight Year
- 1,989
- Last Flight Year
- 1,989
- Manufacturer
- Operator
- Spacecraft Specs
- Launch Mass Kg
- 3,445
- Reusability
- expendable
Links
- Official Url
- https://science.nasa.gov/mission/magellan/
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- July 30, 2026 at 02:55:48 UTC
- Updated Time
- July 30, 2026 at 02:55:48 UTC
Other
- Programs