The Giotto mission was a European robotic spacecraft mission of the European Space Agency to Halley's Comet. It was launched on an Ariane 1 rocket on July 2, 1985, from Kourou, French Guiana, and on March 13, 1986, approached the nucleus of Halley's Comet to a distance of 596 kilometres, making it the first spacecraft to make close-up observations of a comet. The spacecraft was named after the early Italian Renaissance painter Giotto di Bondone, who observed the comet in 1301 and painted it as the star of Bethlehem in the Scrovegni Chapel. It formed part of the international Halley Armada.
Facts
Mission Type
Mission Type (category) Connections
Operated By
Source Wikipedia - Giotto (spacecraft)
Spacecraft Of
Source Wikipedia - Giotto (spacecraft)
Targets
Source Wikipedia: Halley's Comet
Sources
1. Wikipedia - Giotto (spacecraft)
Lead paragraph
Giotto is a European robotic spacecraft mission from the European Space Agency
Lead paragraph, target
The spacecraft flew by and studied Halley's Comet
Lead paragraph, outcome
became the first spacecraft to make close up observations of a comet
Lead: mission type
The spacecraft flew by and studied Halley's Comet
Lead or launch section: launch date
The mission was launched on an Ariane 1 rocket (flight V14) on 2 July 1985 from Kourou, French Guiana.
Operated By: European Space Agency, Lead: agency
Giotto is a European robotic spacecraft mission from the European Space Agency
Includes: Giotto, Lead: mission of the spacecraft (part-of)
The spacecraft flew by and studied Halley's Comet
Spacecraft Of: Giotto, Lead: mission of the spacecraft (mission-of)
The spacecraft flew by and studied Halley's Comet
In Group: Outer Solar System and Small-Body Missions of Other Agencies, Lead: kind of mission and sponsor
The spacecraft flew by and studied Halley's Comet
View the SourceWikipedia: Halley's Comet
Wikimedia FoundationTargets: Halley's Comet, Article textQuote, Targets: Halley's Comet, Article text
In March 1986, during its latest visit to the inner Solar System, Halley's Comet became the first comet to be observed in detail by a spacecraft, the European Space Agency's Giotto mission, providing the first observational data on the structure of a comet nucleus and the mechanism of coma and tail formation.
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