MOSCOW, December 15. /TASS/. The missions of the Vega 1 and Vega 2 spacecrafts have become a true triumph of both Soviet and international space exploration, Roscosmos said on Sunday.
"The Vega program helped to make a significant number of scientific and technical breakthroughs. The mission combined flights to Venus and Halley's Comet and was exceptional in terms of complexity," the statement dedicated to the 40th anniversary of Vega spacecrafts' launch reads.
Vega 1 spacecraft and its twin Vega 2 were launched on December 15 and 21, 1984, respectively. Six months later, both of them reached Venus. In March 1986, the spacecrafts passed at a distance of 8,900 kilometers and 8,000 kilometers from the nucleus of Halley's Comet.
The mission brought unique scientific results - in particular, scientists managed to study the atmosphere of Venus, finding chlorine and phosphorus in it, as well as to obtain images of the nucleus of Halley's Comet during its flyby and data about the chemical composition of the comet's dust, which includes atomic, molecular components, metals and water vapor. Over 1,500 images of the comet were sent to Earth.
Vega 1 and Vega 2 spacecraft also helped to adjust the trajectory of the European interplanetary spacecraft Giotto, which approached the nucleus of Halley's Comet at a distance of 600 kilometers.