Giotto:
Goals: Giotto was designed to photograph and study comet Halley by passing as close as possilbe to its nucleus. It was equipped with two sheilds to absorb dust impacts, although it was not expected to survive the encounter.

Accomplishments: Europe's first deep space mission was a resounding success. Giotto survived an intense battering as it closed to a then-record of 605 km (376 miles) from the comet's core and sent back about 2,000 images. The damaged spacecraft was then sent on to make an event closer pass -- 200 km (124 miles) -- by comet Grigg-Skjellerup in 1992. That flyby revealed even more information about comets. Giotto was also the first deep space misison to change its orbit by returning to Earth for a gravity assist.

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2 Jul 1985:  Launch (11:23:16 UT) 14 Mar 1986:  Comet Halley Flyby (00:03:02 UT) 2 Jul 1990:  Earth Gravity Assist 10 Jul 1992:  Comet Grigg-Skjellerup Flyby Status:  Successful Show All Dates for Giotto		Solar System Bodies: Comets Giotto Multimedia Gallery European Space Agency: Giotto Homepage National Space Science Data Center Master Catalog: Giotto National Air and Space Museum: Exploring Comet Halley
Giotto was hammered by an average of 100 dust particles as second as it flew past comet Halley. The spaecraft was named in honor of 14th century Italian artist Giotto di Bondone. His Adoration of the Magi (right) is the first time the Star of Bethlehem was represented as a comet. Giotto was the first spacecraft to use Earth's gravity to assist it on its journey.