What if I told you there's a planet where it rains acid and the air could crush a submarine?

The Day Mariner 5 Zoomed Past Venus!

A brave little spacecraft revealed the secrets of Earth's mysterious twin

NASA launched Mariner 5 to Venus and discovered it's a scorching hot world with super thick air!

On June 14, 1967, NASA launched Mariner 5 on an incredible journey to Venus — the hottest planet in our solar system!

Venus is sometimes called Earth's twin because it's almost the same size as our planet. But here's the wild part: nobody really knew what Venus was like up close! Thick, swirling clouds hide its surface, making it super mysterious.

Mariner 5 was a small spacecraft, about the size of a large refrigerator with solar panel wings. Its mission? Fly right past Venus and send back information using special instruments.

After traveling through space for four months, Mariner 5 got within 2,480 miles of Venus — that's closer than a trip from New York to Los Angeles! The spacecraft discovered something shocking: Venus's atmosphere is almost ALL carbon dioxide, and it's incredibly thick. Imagine wearing a suit made of air that's 90 times heavier than what we breathe!

💡 Venus is so hot that if you could stand on its surface, you'd be crushed AND melted at the same time — the air pressure is like being 3,000 feet underwater!