A Soviet space program consisting of two spacecraft, Vega 1 and Vega 2, launched in December 1984 to study Venus and Halley's Comet in a single combined mission. Both spacecraft deployed landers and balloon probes into the Venusian atmosphere in June 1985, then used a Venus gravity assist to redirect toward Halley's Comet, flying past it in March 1986 and returning roughly 1,500 images, among the first close-up pictures ever taken of a comet nucleus.
Facts
Mission TypeRobotic Venus and Halley's Comet flyby program 1 Launch DateDate of Vega 1's launch; Vega 2 followed on 21 December 1984. End DateDate of Vega 2's Halley's Comet flyby, the program's primary scientific objectives complete; some instrument operation continued afterward. OutcomeSuccessful; both spacecraft delivered Venus landers and balloon probes, then returned some of the first close-up images of Halley's Comet's nucleus during their March 1986 flybys. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
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