On This Day In Space: Sept. 11, 1985: International Cometary Explorer completes 1st comet flyby (Image Credit: Space.com)
On Sept. 11, 1985, the International Cometary Explorer, or “ICE” became the first spacecraft to fly by a comet.
NASA’s Vintage ISEE-3 ICE Spacecraft in Pictures
Originally launched as the International Sun-Earth Explorer-3 in 1978, ICE was one of three spacecraft built for the International Sun-Earth Explorer (ISEE) program, a joint effort by NASA, the European Space Research Organization and the European Space Agency.
The program’s purpose was to study space weather, or the interaction between the Earth’s magnetic field and the solar wind. After completing its original mission, the spacecraft did a maneuver to steer it toward Comet Giacobini-Zinner. It flew straight through the comet’s plasma tail, but it didn’t stop there! Six months later, it flew by Halley’s Comet, too.
Best Close Encounters of the Comet Kind
On This Day in Space Archive!
Still not enough space? Don’t forget to check out our Space Image of the Day, and on the weekends our Best Space Photos and Top Space News Stories of the week.
Follow us @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
