http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/magellan/ (World Wide Web Directory, 06/1995)

Magellan Mission to Venus (JPL)

Magellan Mission to Venus

Magellan is Gone

Loss of Signal Occurred at 3:02 AM PDT on October 12, 1994

Parts of the spacecraft should land on Venus by 1:00 PM PDT, October 13, 1994.

NASA's Magellan spacecraft made a dramatic conclusion to its highly successful mission at Venus when it is commanded to plunge into the planet's dense atmosphere Tuesday, October 11, 1994. During its four years in orbit around Earth's sister planet, the spacecraft has radar-mapped 98 percent of the surface and collected high-resolution gravity data of Venus. The purpose of the crash landing is to gain data on the planet's atmosphere and on the performance of the spacecraft as it descends.

Up-to-date status reports will be available from this page, which also offers Venus images and other highlights from the mission.