We know all about the surface of Mars. We’ve seen photos from the rovers: Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity. We’ve even got photos from the 1970s, from the Viking missions. The red planet’s horizon is a familiar sight.
Venus, on the other hand, is far less hospitable. The surface has a temperature of over 800 degrees Fahrenheit, squished under a pressure of 92 atmospheres. Of course, no lander could possibly survive such a harsh environment. We’ll probably never know –
What’s that?
The Soviets did it? In the 80s?
Yes, the Venera missions successfully landed probes – plural – on Venus, and sent back actual photos from the depths of Hell:
Full gallery here.
People. Seriously. How did I not know about this?
It turns out we have photographs from the surface of no fewer than four extraterrestrial bodies. Mars, Venus, and the moon are three. Mad props to anyone who knows the fourth – leave your answer in the comments!
Brian D. Buckley 
Mercury right?
Not Mercury. We have photos of the surface, but they’re from orbit. We’ve never sent a lander there.
The Huygens probe landed on the Saturn moon Titan and sent back photos. Also the NEAR space probe landed on the asteroid Eros althoug once it landed, the camera died.
Nice! 10 points for Gryffindor. 🙂