The Giotto mission reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004
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Giotto mission

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Giotto spacecraft illustration (NASA)
Giotto spacecraft illustration (NASA)
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Giotto was an unmanned space mission from the European Space Agency, intended to fly by and study the Comet Halley. On March 13, 1986, Giotto approached to a distance of 596 kilometers of Halley's nucleus.

Giotto also flew by the Comet Grigg-Skjellerup, which it approached to a distance of ca. 200 kilometers.

The spacecraft was named after the medieval painter Giotto di Bondone from Italy. Giotto di Bondone painted the star of Bethlehem as the Halley's comet.

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