Other space probes, like the Hubble Space Telescope, stay in orbit around the same planet their whole life. Space probes are made to conduct science experiments. They do not have people on them. Space probes have helped scientists get information about our solar system.

On December 15, 1970 an unmanned Soviet spacecraft, Venera 7, became the first spacecraft to land on another planet. It measured the temperature of the atmosphere on Venus. In 1972, Venera 8 gathered atmospheric and surface data for 50 minutes after landing.

There are three types of space probes: interplanetary, orbiters, and landers. The next generation of probes will bring back samples taken from celestial bodies.

The names of planetary mission probes were patterned after nautical terms, to convey “the impression of travel to great distances and remote lands.” Isolated missions to investigate the space environment were “assigned the name of the mission group of which they are most nearly a part.”3 This 1960 decision was the …

Spacecraft that have visited other planets

• Place where spacecraft have landed. Earth’s moon. Venus.
• Earth’s Moon. 20 landings by USA. Ranger program.
• Venus. 1 landing by USA. Pioneer Series-Transmitted signals for 67 minutes.
• Mars. 6 landings by USA.
• Eros. 1 landing by USA.
• Jupiter. 1 landing by USA.
• Titan. 1 landing by ESA.
• Comet 9P/Tempel 1. 1 landing by USA.

To this day, scientists are still making new discoveries by exploring Voyager’s decades-old data. But these probes haven’t stopped scouting the outer solar system. Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are still functioning today, making them the longest-running and most-distant space mission in history.

Space Probes Advantages & Disadvantages

• Lower Cost. Sending human-made objects into space is always a costly venture.
• Ability to Reach Extreme Locations. Unmanned space probes can go where astronauts cannot.
• Risk of Malfunctions. While space probes can undertake missions that would preclude human involvement, they are not perfect.
• Less Enthusiasm.

A space probe or a spaceprobe is a robotic spacecraft that doesn’t orbit the Earth, but instead explores farther into outer space. A space probe may approach the Moon; travel through interplanetary space; flyby, orbit, or land or fly on other planetary bodies; or enter interstellar space.

The big difference is in weight. Satellites in Earth orbit can be much heavier than deep space probes, simply because it takes a lot of energy to launch something into an Earth-escape trajectory. Satellites are often in the region of 8 tons, while deep space probes are rarely above 1 ton.

1 : to search into and explore very thoroughly : subject to a penetrating investigation. 2 : to examine with a probe uncrewed vehicles probed space. intransitive verb. : to make a searching exploratory investigation.

five interstellar probes

Voyager 1 is about 13 billion miles from Earth in interstellar space, and Voyager 2 is not far behind.

Voyager 1

While Pioneer 10 and 11 are now inactive, New Horizons and both Voyager spacecrafts remain operational, powered by radioisotope thermoelectric generators. Since the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March, NASA has had no contact with Voyager 2, but an upgraded deep space network dish made a successful call on October 29.