\( \begin{array}{ll}\text { A probe orbiting Venus exerts a gravitational force of } & \text { To three significant digits, the probe is } \square \times \\ 2.58 \times 10^{3} \mathrm{~N} \text { on Venus. Venus has a mass of } 4.87 & 10^{6} \mathrm{~m} \text { from the center of Venus. } \\ \times 10^{24} \mathrm{~kg} \text {. The mass of the probe is } 655 \text { kilograms. } & \\ \text { The gravitational constant is } 6.67 \times 10^{-11} \quad \mathrm{~N}^{*} \mathrm{~m}^{2} / \mathrm{kg}^{2} \text {. } & \\ & \end{array} \)

To calculate the gravitational force exerted by Venus on the probe, we can use Newton's law of universal gravitation, \( F = \frac{G \cdot m_1 \cdot m_2}{r^2} \). Here, \( G \) is the gravitational constant, \( m_1 \) is the mass of Venus, \( m_2 \) is the mass of the probe, and \( r \) is the distance from the center of Venus to the probe. Plugging in the values, \( G = 6.67 \times 10^{-11} \, \text{N m}^2/\text{kg}^2 \), \( m_1 = 4.87 \times 10^{24} \, \text{kg} \), \( m_2 = 655 \, \text{kg} \), and \( r = 2.58 \times 10^{6} \, \text{m} \), you can check the calculations for the exact gravitational force value. A fun fact is that Venus, often called Earth's "sister planet" due to their similar size and proximity, has an incredibly thick atmosphere that traps heat, leading to surface temperatures hot enough to melt lead—over 460 degrees Celsius! This unique environmental challenge makes studying Venus fascinating, especially for probes like the one in your scenario, as they must withstand extreme conditions while gathering data.