Best Probe

The Venera 4 mission, undertaken by the Soviet Union, represents a pivotal moment in space exploration. Launched in 1967, it was the first spacecraft to successfully enter the atmosphere of another planet – Venus. Venera 4 transmitted data regarding atmospheric pressure and temperature before succum...

NASA spacecraft launched in 1978 as the first stationed at a Sun-Earth Lagrange point; repurposed as ICE, it flew through comet Giacobini-Zinner's tail in 1985.

NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission, launched in 2015, uses four identical spacecraft flying in close formation to study magnetic reconnection in Earth's magnetosphere.

NASA's Advanced Composition Explorer, launched in 1997 to the L1 Lagrange point, samples solar wind particles and measures cosmic ray elemental composition.

One of two NASA spacecraft launched in 2006 to provide the first stereoscopic views of the Sun and solar phenomena from ahead of Earth in its orbit.

A NASA spacecraft launched in 1994 and stationed near the L1 Lagrange point to study solar wind properties and their interaction with Earth's magnetosphere.

NOAA/NASA spacecraft stationed at the Sun-Earth L1 Lagrange point since 2015, monitoring solar wind and capturing full-disk Earth images with its EPIC camera.

One of two NASA spacecraft launched in 2006 for stereoscopic solar observation; contact was lost in 2014 and briefly restored in 2016 before being permanently lost.

NASA Comet Nucleus Tour spacecraft launched in 2002 that was lost shortly after its departure burn from Earth orbit due to a catastrophic thruster failure.