Images Dated 6th October 1988

Vega spacecraft

Vega spacecraft, Russia. In December 1984 an international mission was launched to study Venus and the tail of Halley's Comet. Two identical Soviet spacecraft, Vega 1 and 2, carried the equipment. The US designed a dust collector to analyse the comet. Various other equipment, including a probe in each to release into the atmosphere of Venus, was provided by an international team of scientists. Vega 1 and 2 passed around 8000 kilometres behind the tail of Halley's Comet, collecting important data

© RIA NOVOSTI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY