The Giotto space probe visited Halley’s Comet in 1986 and took brilliant photos of the comet’s rocky core. Even though Giotto kept a safe distance of about 600 km, its special protective shields got covered in icy dust.
Amazing! A probe carries a message for aliens. The Pioneer 10 probe was fitted with a plaque, just in case it’s ever found by aliens. It shows a man and woman, and a map to show where Earth is in the Universe.
Is it true? A probe was made out of junk.
Yes. Magellan, sent to visit Venus in 1989, was made up of spare parts from other missions.
Which spacecraft flew furthest?
Voyager 2, launched in 1977, has flown past Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Now it is beyond our Solar System, heading into interstellar space.
Which probe is as big as a bus?
The bus-sized Cassini space probe has another probe, called Huygens, on board. It should reach Saturn in 2004. Cassini will beam data back to Earth about Saturn’s rings, moons and the planet itself.
Picture Credit : Google