The Soviet Union’s Vega 1 Space Probe began sending back images of Halley’s Comet.
Vega 1 was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome atop a Proton rocket on December 15, 1984, on a mission to Venus to do a flyby of Halley’s Comet. Vega 1 reached the vicinity of Venus by June 1985, from which point it began heading for Halley’s Comet. Vega 1′s instruments sent back a detailed analysis of the comet, including its core temperatures and surface composition.