When the atmosphere of Venus was approached, a capsule with a mass of 405 kilograms (893 lb) was jettisoned from the main spacecraft.

The spacecraft also carried a medallion bearing the State Coat of Arms of the Soviet Union and a bas-relief of Lenin to the night side of Venus.

Knowing the atmosphere was extremely dense, the parachutes were also made smaller so the capsule would reach its full crush depth before running out of power (as Venera-4 had done).

Venera 6 was launched into an Earth parking orbit on January 10, 1969, at 05:51:52 UT and then from a Tyazheliy Sputnik (69-002C) towards Venus.

The probe sent back readouts every 45 seconds for 51 minutes and ceased operation due to the temperature and pressure effects at roughly 10 to 12 kilometres (6.2 to 7.5 mi) altitude.