The Venusian Surface

(a) This color photograph, taken by a Soviet spacecraft, shows rocks that
appear orange because the light was filtered through the thick, sulfur-rich
clouds. (b) By comparing the apparent color of the spacecraft to the color
it was known to be, computers can correct for the sulfurous light. The
actual color of the rocks is gray. In this view, the rocky plates that cover
the ground may be fractured segments of a thin layer of lava. The toothed
wheel in each image is part of the landing mechanism that keeps the
spherical spacecraft from rolling.