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A workshop was convened at Ames Research Center on September 28 and 29, 1993, to address the unexplained electrical anomalies experienced in December 1978 by the four Pioneer Venus probes below a Venus altitude of 12.5 km. These anomalies caused the loss of valuable data in the deep atmosphere, and, if their cause were to remain unexplained, could reoccur on future Venus missions. The workshop participants reviewed the evidence and studied all identified mechanisms that could consistently account for all observed anomalies. Both hardware problems and atmospheric interactions were considered. Based on a workshop recommendation, subsequent testing identified the cause as being an insulation failure of the external harness. All anomalous events are now explained.

Each of the four Pioneer Venus probes carried instruments to measure the structure of the atmosphere, both below the cloud deck and above it to an altitude of at least 120 km. Preliminary results are presented on lower-atmosphere structure, thermal contrasts, and atmospheric stability. Altitudes derived from the data are given along with the temperature profile from 67 to 105 km, derived from the first analysis of the entry data from the north probe. All four probes lost temperature data at the 640 K level, which is at an altitude of about 12 to 14 km. Values of temperature and pressure at touchdown are presented in a table. The pressure differences imply terrain elevation differences at the landing sites. Above 40 km, the measured profile moves from near-adiabatic toward the theoretical profile for radiative equilibrium.