Giotto was a European robotic spacecraft mission from the European Space Agency. The spacecraft flew by and studied Halley's Comet and in doing so became the first spacecraft to make close up observations of a comet.

Nov 3, 2024 · Artist's concept of the Giotto spacecraft. Goals: Giotto was designed to photograph and study Halley's comet by passing as close as possible to its nucleus. It was equipped with two shields to absorb dust impacts, although it was not expected to survive the encounter. Accomplishments: Europe's first deep space mission was a resounding success.

Giotto was ESA's first deep space mission, part of an ambitious international effort to solve the mysteries surrounding Comet Halley. The plan was to send an armada of five space probes – two Soviet, two Japanese and one European – towards the comet on its return to the inner Solar System in 1986.

Twenty-five years ago, during the night of 13-14 March 1986, the Giotto spacecraft swept within 600 km of Comet Halley, obtaining the first ever close-up images of a comet nucleus.

ESA's first deep space mission, Giotto was designed to help solve the mysteries surrounding Comet Halley by passing as close as possible to the comet's nucleus, which it achieved on 13 March 1986.

Mar 10, 2006 · Twenty years ago, during the night of 13/14 March 1986, ESA’s Giotto spacecraft encountered Comet Halley. It was ESA’s first deep space mission, and part of an ambitious international effort to solve the riddles surrounding this mysterious object.

Apr 10, 2001 · Almost exactly 15 years ago, during the night of 13/14 March 1986, ESA's Giotto spacecraft made history by obtaining the first close-up pictures of a comet's black, icy nucleus.

During the Giotto extended mission, the spacecraft flew by the Earth on 2 July 1990 at a distance of 16,300 km at 10:01:18 UTC. This was the first encounter of Earth by a spacecraft coming from deep space.

Apr 7, 2023 · The Giotto spacecraft (Fig. 1), the first ESA (European Space Agency) interplanetary probe, was designed to flyby comet Halley. Launched on 2 July 1985 by an Ariane-1 rocket from Kourou, Giotto succeeded in approaching the cometary nucleus to …

Sep 1, 2019 · The Giotto spacecraft was based on the GEOS Earth-orbiting research satellites, which were built by British Aerospace at Bristol in the UK. The most significant modification was the addition of a buffer to protect it from a battering by …