space probe

American  

noun

1. Aerospace. an unmanned spacecraft designed to explore the solar system and transmit data back to earth.

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space probe British  

noun

1. a vehicle, such as a satellite, equipped to obtain scientific information, normally transmitted back to earth by radio, about the atmosphere, surface, and temperature of a planet, conditions in space, etc

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Etymology

Origin of space probe

First recorded in 1955–60

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

space probe

The tribute, at the M Shed in Bristol, recognises the space probe landing on Mars on Christmas Day 2003 and honours the contribution to the mission of the late Bristol-born scientist Professor Colin Pillinger.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

They then used a laser beam to excite the droplets and mass spectral analysis to mimic what instruments on the space probe will detect.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 22, 2024

Four years later, she joined a four-day mission on the same spacecraft when it sent the Magellan robotic space probe to Venus to map the planet’s surface.

From New York Times ● Dec. 13, 2023

Before the mission ended nearly 20 years later, the Cassini-Huygens space probe managed to provide unprecedentedly detailed readings about the planet Saturn, along with its rings and various satellites.

From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2023

April 3, 1966: The Luna 10 space probe becomes the first spacecraft to orbit the moon.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson

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Related Words

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