Giotto encounters Halley's Comet
Date as reported
ESA's Giotto spacecraft flew past Halley's Comet. Returned close-range observations of a cometary nucleus. The encounter spanned the night of March 13–14; the overview dates the encounter to March 14.
Historical significance
Returned close-range observations of a cometary nucleus.
- Category
- Mission Operations and Milestones
- Type
- Flyby
- Mission
- Giotto
- Organization
- European Space Agency
- Destination
- comet
- Target body
- 1P/Halley
Context and qualifications
The encounter spanned the night of March 13–14; the overview dates the encounter to March 14.
Sources and attribution
- ESA — Giotto overview (opens in a new tab) — Original factual summary; retain attribution to ESA.