Tonight's Sky for October 10: Venera 15 Arrives at Venus (1983)

On this date in 1983, the Soviet Venera 15 space probe arrived at Venus. Together with Venera 16, which arrived shortly thereafter, Venera 15 helped create a map of about 25% of the planet's surface. Two features that made the twin space probes unique for the time: the use of radar as a mapping tool and the on-board computer that stored all the data.