S1902

Space Exploration

Venus, Mariner 2

Collins Cover Announcement 

SPACE EXPLORATION

Venus/Mariner 2 

Thick, colored clouds cover the entire planet from which there is a continuous rain of sulfuric acid. Surface temperatures rise to 900 degrees F. A most unusual feature of Venus is that its year (orbit around the sun) equals 225 earth days while its day (one full turn on its axis) equals 243 earth days. Strangely, a year on venus takes place within a day. Heat and atmospheric pressure make life impossible. There is little evidence of craters and the surface is about 60% rolling hills, 30% lowlands, and 10% mountains.

My hand-painted cachet shows the dense bands of clouds that always engulf and hide the planet. Mariner 2 is shown as it flies by. This spacecraft has the distinction of being the first probe to successfully approach any planet beyond earth. It came closest on December 14, 1962. Both the United States and the former Soviet Union have had several successful missions to Venus and the volumes of knowledge about this close neighbor continue to grow despite the ever present mysterious clouds.

Ancient astronomers called Venus the Morning Star and it is now ready to add to your Solar System set. Item #S1902. $8.75.

Winter 2026 Mail Sale Commentary 

Lot 20 S1901 — S1910 — Solar System Space Stamps (set of ten covers) — /0/1/91

The USPS "Space Exploration" stamps, issued October 1, 1991, featured the nine planets and Earth's moon with their respective spacecraft, celebrating the solar system and kicking off National Stamp Collecting Month. The heavenly bodies shown are Mercury, Venus, Earth, (Earth's moon), Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.

The USPS partnered with Paramount Studios to promote the stamps. The studio was celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Star Trek movies and television series. The stamp designs were unveiled on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise, the space vehicle featured in the series.

These stamps show some of the spacecraft and the images of the planets they captured as they flew by. Discoveries continue to be made with the space probes that still travel our solar system."

Each of my ten hand-painted first day covers depicts one of the nine planets plus the Earth's moon. Since Pluto had not yet had a fly-by or been explored by any manmade craft, I depicted the US.S. Enterprise from the show Star Trek.