In 1986, the United States launches the Giotto (unmanned) spacecraft toward Halley’s comet. The probe was named after the Italian painter Giotto di Bondone, who painted the star of Bethlehem as Halley’s comet.
Giotto came within 596 km of the comet’s nucleus, being the sixth probe of mankind to approach one of these objects and the last of the Halley Armada (popular name for a group of five space probes, one European, two Soviet and two Japanese, which were sent to Halley’s comet during its 1986 approach).
Artistic recreation of the flyby of comet 1P/Halley. By Andrzej Mirecki – Own work.