NASA's Magellan probe, cobbled together from spare parts left over from other programs, will use radar beams to create a detailed, photo-quality map of cloud-shrouded Venus' hidden surface.
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Launched May 4, 1989, from the shuttle Atlantis, Magellan is to slip into orbit around Venus early Friday after a 15-month space voyage.Its goal: to spend at least 243 days mapping the cloudy planet's hidden surface using a high-resolution radar capable of distinguishing objects as small as a football field.