Illustration of one of the Venera probes on the surface of Venus. Between the 1960s and 1980s the USSR launched 16 probes to Venus, 13 of which successfully entered the Venusian atmosphere. The surface of Venus is the hottest planetary surface in the solar system, with temperatures of nearly 500 degrees Celsius. The surface atmospheric pressure is around 90 times that on Earth. Due to these inhospitable conditions none of the probes lasted for more than 2 hours. However, during their short time on the planet they were able to record and transmit data about atmospheric pressure, temperature and chemical composition, along with photographs and sound recordings.