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

Example Sentences

"We're not there yet. But we're currently developing a new space probe at ESA called Vigil which will be dedicated exclusively to improving our understanding of space weather," says the scientist.

From Science Daily • Jan. 13, 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

The space probe flew through them seven times during its 13-year mission, discovering organic molecules such as methane and formaldehyde, and hydrogen, a potential energy source for microbes.

From Science Magazine • May 30, 2023

Then in September, it successfully completed the Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission, crashing a robotic space probe into a small asteroid to test a method for deflecting deadly space rocks in the future.

From New York Times • Nov. 15, 2022

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

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson

Related Words

• spy satellite