 Venera-8, a late model 3MV (V-72) | |||
| Manufacturer | OKB-1 (Pre 1967) NPO Lavochkin (1967-1972) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Soviet Union | ||
| Specifications | |||
| Launch mass | 800-960kg (Zond/Early Types) 963kg (Venera 2) | ||
| Production | |||
| Operational | 1963-1972 | ||
| Related spacecraft | |||
| Derived from | 2MV | ||
| |||
The 3MV planetary probe (short for 3rd generation Mars-Venus) is a designation for a common design used by early Soviet unmanned probes to Mars and Venus.[1] It was an incremental improvement of earlier 2MV probes and was used for Zond 1, Zond 2 and Zond 3 missions to Mars as well as several Venera probes. It was standard practice of the Soviet space program to use standardized components as much as possible. All probes shared the same typical characteristics and differed usually in equipment necessary for specific missions. Each probe also incorporated improvements based on experience with earlier missions.