Russia landed on Venus in 1982 and took photos

A bit bigger: http://imgur.com/a/xS5AE/embed & http://mentallandscape.com/C_CatalogVenus.htm

An interesting recent discussion about whether it would be easier to terraform Venus or Mars - http://www.slate.com/blogs/quora/2013/09/12/outer_space_can_... (full conversation from Quora, but linking to Slate because, well, Quora.)

Every time I see these Venus pictures, I think about all the dull, lifeless, empty places on Earth that a spacecraft could land in, and lead us to conclude that there's nothing of any interest there.

Of course, I trust the scientists, but its sure fun to think we landed in some Venutian-preserved national park, where no Venutian dare go, for fear of incurring a trespassing ticket or two..