space probe

American  

noun

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

---

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

---

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

In 2034, NASA's space probe Dragonfly is expected to reach Titan, with the aim of investigating what is on its surface.

From Science Daily • Oct. 17, 2025

When scientists using NASA's Cassini space probe discovered organic compounds in blocks of ice from Enceladus, they wondered if this meant the Saturnian moon might have the ingredients for life.

From Salon • May 29, 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

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